Deals
PPG Pulls $29 Billion Akzo Bid After Chairman Refuses Call
- Suitor made last, unsuccessful effort to start negotiations
- Akzo’s Burgmans refused talks, overcame challenge for ouster
An employee experiments with paint mixtures in the testing lab at the Akzo Nobel NV paint production facility in Sassenheim, Netherlands.
Photographer: Jock Fistick/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
In the end, Akzo Nobel NV Chairman Antony Burgmans refused even a five-minute phone call with the head of rival-turned-suitor PPG Industries Inc.
So deep-rooted was his determination to keep the Amsterdam-based company independent that over the course of three months, Burgmans resisted multiple takeover overtures by PPG Chief Executive Officer Michael McGarry including ever-higher bids, personal visits to the Dutch capital and lengthy letters. In the process, the 70-year-old Dutchman also overcame an attempt by Elliott Management Corp. to remove him in order to jump-start talks with PPG.