Private equity firm Carlyle Group LLC has emerged as the leading contender to acquire BASF SE’s coatings business, according to a Reuters report on October 6. BASF’s coatings division, which mainly produces automotive coatings, generated approximately €3.8 billion in revenue last year.

Earlier, a Bloomberg report on May 30 indicated that Carlyle and Sherwin-Williams Co. were considering a joint bid for BASF’s coatings unit. Two other private equity firms—CVC Capital Partners PLC and Lone Star Funds LLC—also expressed initial interest.

However, according to the Financial Times, Carlyle topped other bidders in the auction, raising the valuation of BASF’s coatings business to around €7 billion.

In February 2025, BASF sold its decorative paints business in Brazil to Sherwin-Williams for $1.15 billion, and in March announced plans to divest the remaining coatings operations as a single entity.

Carlyle previously acquired DuPont’s performance coatings unit for $4.9 billion in 2013 and later renamed it Axalta Coating Systems. Carlyle took Axalta public in 2014, raising $975 million and selling about 25% of its shares. The firm fully exited Axalta in 2016, selling its remaining shares at $29 per share. As of 2 p.m. on October 6, Axalta was trading at $28.36 per share.

Source ：Reuters