Dutch paints maker AkzoNobel and U.S. rival Axalta Coating Systems said on Tuesday that they have ended merger talks. The combined paints and coating company could have been worth $30 billion.
Backstory: The deal talks followed Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries trying to buy AkzoNobel earlier this year, but getting rebuffed. The theory was that if AkzoNobel could buy Axalta, then it would be too big for PPG to swallow.
Axalta CEO's statement: "After pursuing a potential combination of Axalta and Akzo, we concluded we could not negotiate a transaction on terms that meet our criteria. Any transaction we ultimately agree to needs to generate superior long-term value for Axalta shareholders as compared to the continued execution of our strategic plan."