Germany’s Henkel has agreed to purchase Stahl Group, a Netherlands-based provider of speciality coatings for flexible materials, in a deal valued at €2.1bn ($2.48bn).
The transaction involves purchasing the majority stake from Wendel, a French private equity company.
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Stahl supplies coatings used in various sectors, including packaging, automotive, fashion, and lifestyle.
Its product range features solutions for leather finishing, performance coatings, and coatings for paper packaging and graphics.
The company employs 1,700 people and recorded adjusted sales of approximately €725m ($854.6m) for the 2025 fiscal year.
Throughout the acquisition process, Stahl’s daily operations will remain unchanged, with existing organisational structures maintained.
Stahl’s ownership is divided among Wendel (68.5%), BASF (16.1%), and Clariant (14.6%).
Stahl CEO Maarten Heijbroek said: “We are deeply grateful to Wendel for the long-term partnership and support that has shaped Stahl over the past two decades.
“Under Wendel’s ownership, Stahl has undergone a significant transformation into a focused, pure-play speciality coatings company with a strong global footprint, strengthened technologies, and a resilient market position.”
Both companies supply complementary products to similar markets, with the transaction expected to create opportunities for “commercial synergies”, Stahl said in a statement.
Completion of the deal is subject to regulatory approvals, consultation processes, and other standard closing conditions.
Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel commented: “With the acquisition of Stahl, we will further strengthen our Adhesive Technologies business unit in line with our strategic agenda for purposeful growth.
“Together with the recently announced intention to acquire ATP Adhesive Systems, we have agreed to two significant M&A projects, adding up close to one billion euros of sales and substantially advancing the growth potential for our world-class adhesive technologies business.”
Notably, Henkel plans to introduce new packaging for its Pritt glue sticks in European markets, with updated cardboard blister packs expected to be available from early 2026.
