Asian Paints to sell stake in Australian unit

16 June 2007

Mumbai: The country''s largest paint manufacturer, Asian Paints has decided to divest its stake in its Australian operations. The company''s operations in Queensland are small and not expected to make any significant impact in the company''s performance.

The company has entered into a share purchase agreement to offload its stake in Asian Paints (Queensland) Ltd, held by its wholly owned subsidiary, Asian Paints (International), Mauritius. The offer is subject to due diligence and other requisite approvals.

Compared with Asian Paint''s revenues of Rs3,700 crore in the last financial year, the Australian unit fetched only Rs15 crore.

However, the international strategy will remain to operate in that country to serve existing markets in the region, added company executives.

Despite competition, Asian Paints leads in 10 countries - Bahrain, Barbados, Fiji, Jamaica, Nepal, Samoa Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago and Vanuatu.