(42,87 EUR, -0,06%) Nobel announced its intention to divest its 72 German decorative paints stores for professionals to independent wholesale distributors.
With the move, intends to focus on the production, distribution and marketing of its paint brands in Germany, thereby improving the profitability of the German operations. also hinted to be reviewing its office footprint in Germany.
In total, the German Decorative Paints organization employs about 950 people. No additional details with regards to potential lay-offs, restructuring provisions or anticipated sales proceeds were announced.
Our View:
We believe the announcement is another example of the focus of Akzo’s new CEO to improve the returns of the company. We currently have no insight in the potential financial impact (additional restructuring provisions, divestment proceeds) but would expect them to be relatively limited in the overall picture. We stick to our Accumulate rating and € 53 target price.