Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 4, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 4, 2026
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Henkel buys Stahl for €2.1 billion, boosting its Adhesive Technologies. Wendel receives €1.2 billion, marking a significant return on investment.
By Jakob Van Calster and Mathieu Rosemain
Feb 4 (Reuters) - Persil-owner Henkel said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy speciality coatings company Stahl for 2.1 billion euros ($2.5 billion) from Stahl Group, which is majority owned by French private equity firm Wendel.
The move fits Henkel's broader strategy to reduce its dependence on slower‑growing consumer brands and bulk up its more profitable industrial division.
"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 (...) Adhesive Technologies business," Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel said in a press release.
The deal also reflects a wider trend: using targeted acquisitions to gain scale in niche, technology‑rich segments that can withstand economic swings better than mass‑market products.
The deal will be formally signed following completion of Stahl's mandatory works council consultation processes, Henkel said. Stahl employs around 1,700 employees and generated adjusted sales of around 725 million euros in 2025.
MAJORITY OWNER TAKES HOME 1.2 BILLION EUROS
Wendel said it would receive 1.2 billion euros from the transaction, around 6.6 times its total investment in Stahl since it bought its stake in 2006.
"Beyond the value, (Henkel) is also the best industrial buyer for Stahl," Wendel CEO Laurent Mignon told Reuters.
Stahl's minority shareholders, chemicals groups BASF and Clariant, have also agreed to sell their interest to Henkel.
Shares of Wendel gained nearly 9% in early Paris trading and were on track for their biggest one-day rise since March 2022, if the gains hold through the day. Henkel shares rose around 1% in Berlin.
Wendel had spent two to three years preparing Stahl for a sale, which included carving out its "Wet End" business, Mignon said.
($1 = 0.8457 euros)
(Reporting by Linda Pasquini, Jakob Van Calster, and Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Louise Heavens and Milla Nissi-Prussak)
An acquisition occurs when one company purchases most or all of another company's shares to gain control of that company.
Private equity refers to investment funds that buy and restructure companies not listed on public stock exchanges.
M&A stands for mergers and acquisitions, which refers to the consolidation of companies or assets through various financial transactions.
Corporate strategy is the overarching plan of a company to achieve its goals and maximize its value.
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