In early 2013, Grace Matthews published a white paper titled North American Architectural Coatings: The End Game? In it, we discussed the recent acceleration in architectural coatings mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and likened the "Big Four" - at the time Sherwin-Williams, PPG, Masco and Valspar - to the final table of a poker tournament.
The near-term outlook for participants in the industrial coatings industry remains bright. On top of broad economic tailwinds such as low interest rates, cash-rich participants and an active M&A market, several industry-specific factors are providing further lift.