Mumbai: Paint and coatings manufacturer PPG Industries Inc. will acquire Dutch coatings company SigmaKalon Group from Bain Capital LLC for €2.2 billion ($3.04 billion).

Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries edged out rival bidders such as Sherwin-Williams Co. of the US to win the battle for Europe''s second-largest coatings maker after Akzo Nobel NVS.

Under an auction run by UB, PPG Inc will assume an unknown amount of debt of Uithoorn, Netherlands-based SigmaKalon.

SigmaKalon Group has a network of 500 company-owned stores and 3,000 independent wholesalers. It had revenues of €2 billion in 2006.

PPG expects the deal to boost sales of coatings, its largest business, by more than 40 per cent.

PPG is the world''s biggest maker of coatings for cars and planes. It made $480 million in acquisitions in coatings and optical products last year. The purchase of SigmaKalon would double paint sales in Europe and boost revenue in faster-growing markets such as Africa and Asia, PPG said.

The deal is expected to close by 1 January, PPG chief executive Charles E Bunch said at an analysts conference. PPG said it plans to finance the deal with borrowings and cash in hand.

Boston-based private equity firm Bain acquired SigmaKalon for about €1 billion in early 2003. The business was created through the 1999 merger of Total SA''s Kalon Group and PetroFina SA''s Sigma Coatings.

It is not known how much equity Bain has invested in the buyout. Sigma­Kalon has also not released its financial results.

SigmaKalon sells house paints and coatings to professional painters via a network of 500 company-owned stores and about 3,000 independent wholesalers. The company also makes marine and industrial coatings. Sigma­Kalon''s sales have risen from €1.7 billion in 2003 to €2 billion in 2006.