AkzoNobel shares surged 20% after the Dutch paints group rejected a €73-a-share takeover approach from Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams and reaffirmed support for its planned merger with Axalta.
The board said the €12.5 billion offer did not adequately reflect AkzoNobel's value or long-term prospects and carried insufficient certainty over how the business would be separated.
The rejected proposal represented a 39% premium and would have split up AkzoNobel, while the company said shareholder protections were not adequately safeguarded.
The move keeps AkzoNobel focused on combining with U.S. coatings maker Axalta, extending a takeover battle in which the Dutch group also has anti-bid defenses through a Stichting structure.