Berkshire Invests $560 Million for 8.7% Stake in Axalta
Berkshire Hathaway is investing $560 million to acquire 20 million shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd (AXTA) at $28.00 per share for an 8.7% stake from controlling shareholder Carlyle Group which currently owns 74% of the company.
Berkshire owns Lubrizol, the maker of lubricants and Benjamin Moore, which sells paint for use in buildings. Axalta’s paints and coatings are used for vehicles and pipelines, with automobile repair shops being its primary customers.
Carlyle bought AXTA from DuPont (DD) in 2013 in a $4.9 billion deal and took the company public in November, 2014 in a $1 billion offering that was priced at $19.50 a share.
As of 30 September 2015, Berkshire had increased its position in AXTA by 3.2 m shares, and held approximately 9.7% of the company.
More currently, very few shares (likely none) of AXTA were added in the 4thQ of 2015, or else the 10% reporting requirements would have been triggered. And we have not seen the same trail of filings for AXTA that otherwise have greeted the world for PSX.