Columbia Paint takeover set
Spokane-based Columbia Paint and Coatings Co. is slated to become a subsidiary of the nation’s largest paint maker, the Sherwin-Williams Co., following a planned merger, the companies announced Tuesday.
Sherwin-Williams isn’t planning short-term changes to the operations of the 60-year-old paint manufacturer and distributor, executives from both corporations said. Privately held Columbia Paint operates 41 stores in eight Western states, including Washington and Idaho.
“I think they’re very much in recognition of strong regional brands and the value that they bring,” said Larry Larison, president and CEO of Columbia Paint.
Employing about 340, Columbia Paint had revenues of roughly $73.5 million last year, Larison said. It will produce nearly four million gallons of products this year at plants in Spokane and Helena, Mont., he said.
Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams employs about 33,000 and boasts 3,226 stores across the nation, including 43 in Washington and 11 in Idaho. Founded in 1866, it posted sales of about $7.8 billion last year.
Executives declined to disclose financial details of the deal, but Larison said it calls for Sherwin-Williams to buy stock from about three dozen shareholders. The largest blocks of stock are still held by family members of the company’s four founders, who started the operation in Helena after noticing a dearth of paint manufacturers between the West Coast and the Midwest, he said.
Larison said he expects the deal, which still requires regulatory approval, to officially close near the end of September.
Sherwin-Williams has a track record of buying companies and keeping them intact, said company spokesman Mike Conway. The two companies share values and can co-exist in the same areas, he said, pointing out that they have nearly adjacent stores on North Division Street.
“It’s business as usual,” Conway said. “And that’s been the hallmark of our ability as a company when we bring another company into the family, and we do consider it a family.”
Columbia Paint would become Sherwin-Williams’ sixth acquisition since March, joining paint and coatings corporations in India and Uruguay and the 132-store M.A. Bruder & Sons Inc. of Pennsylvania. Columbia Paint stores will retain their name.
The acquisition has been in negotiations for about six months, Larison said. Strong economic conditions spurred Columbia Paint to try to sell. While the company received other initial offers, it negotiated exclusively with Sherwin-Williams, said Larison, who’s worked at the company full-time since 1965.Columbia Paint moved its headquarters to Spokane in 1974, three years after it bought a small industrial paint manufacturer here, Larison said.
The company makes architectural and industrial paints and coatings and specialty products like traffic paint for marking roads and “green” paint that doesn’t emit potentially harmful gases. Some local Ziggy’s hardware stores stock its paint. And its products have been used on projects ranging from The Davenport Hotel downtown to the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture and the Boise Cabela’s, according to the company.
The largest portion of its business is with painting contractors, who have surpassed do-it-yourself painters over the last few decades as more people turn to professionals, Larison said.
Sherwin-Williams in July reported its net sales increased $68.3 million, or 3.2 percent, to $2.2 billion for the second quarter, chiefly because of improving domestic and international paint sales. Sherwin-Williams shares fell $1.97 to $67.41 at closing Tuesday.