Nishimura & Asahi, Clayton Utz and Simpson Grierson have advised Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings on its $2.7 billion takeover bid for Australia’s DuluxGroup, which was counselled by Gilbert + Tobin.

Nippon Paint is the largest maker of paint and coatings in Japan while DuluxGroup makes, sells and distributes paints, coatings, adhesives, and garden and building products.

According to Reuters, this deal would catapult Nippon Paint, the world’s fifth-largest paint maker, from a bit player to the biggest paint seller in the region. It also offers investors in Dulux, whose paint colours more than a quarter of Australia’s homes and buildings, a chance to cash out at the end of a long construction boom.

The proposal comes after Nippon Paint has scoured the globe for big deals to buy growth away from its stagnant home market. It is also the latest in a slew of high-priced Japanese acquisitions in Australia as cashed-up firms seek exposure to an economy that has grown for nearly three decades, Reuters added. 

The Nishimura & Asahi team was led by partners Yo Ota, Masaki Noda, Toshiyuki Nonaka, Kazumaro Kobayashi, and James Emerson.

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