India’s Berger Paints, based in Kolkata, West Bengal has just purchased the architectural/decorative operations of the India unit of Ohio’s Sherwin Williams Inc.
The acquisition, carried out through Berger’s wholly owned subsidiary Brushworks, was funded through internal accruals. This will help the Kolkata-based paint major to strengthen its position in decorative or the architectural paint business. Berger’s Managing Director Abhijit Roy said, “The acquisition will increase our presence in South India through their dealer network. Sherwin Williams has a strong foothold in the southern market. It will also help increase our overall capacity and attain a market share of 24 per cent.” However, Sherwin Williams will continue to compete with Berger on the industrial paint division. It entered into the Indian market three to four years ago with the purchase of the business of NitcoPaints.
Berger, with an revenue of $200 million, has a production capacity of 24,000 tonnes a month across seven units. With the new unit at Hindupur and acquisition of Sherwin Williams’ Taloja plant, it is likely to go up to 36,000 tonnes a month.
