PPG to scoop up Mexico's Comex for US$2bn

US paints and coatings company PPG Industries has reached an agreement to purchase Mexico City-headquartered architectural and industrial coatings company Consorcio Comex.

The deal, valued at US$2.3bn, is "very complementary" to PPG as it contributes to business in Mexico and Central America, "a region where we have negligible architectural coatings presence," PPG chairman and CEO Charles Bunch said in a release.

The agreement marks PPG's second purchase in Latin America this year. In March it announced plans to buy Panama-based Canal Supplies, a distributor of protective and marine coatings to customers in Central America.

PPG said it will fund the Comex acquisition, subject to regulatory approval, mainly with cash currently held and short-term investments, but it may also issue debt to cover part of the purchase.

Founded in 1952, Comex is a privately held company that sold about US$1bn in 2013. It has approximately 3,900 employees, eight manufacturing facilities and six distribution centers.

Last month, PPG announced a US$40mn investment in its coatings manufacturing facility located in Sumare, in Brazil's São Paulo state, to add a 65,000f2 (6,039m2) plant for on-site resin production.