In India, Herberts Paints essentially operated as a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Hoechst group and held a controlling stake in a joint venture with Jenson & Nicholson for automotive refinishes.

The global deal, which has now received clearance from the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission, was closed at the end of February. The combined DuPont-Herberts business, to be known as DuPont Performance Coatings, will have annual sales of more than $3.8 billion and 15,000 employees, making DuPont the world's largest supplier of OEM and after-market coatings supplier and the third largest coatings company, globally.

Repeated efforts made by The Financial Express to reach senior Herberts officials in the country and officials of the Hoechst group proved futile.

Herbertsmanufactured a range of paints for original equipment coatings, industrial coatings, powder coatings and had forged a joint venture with Jenson & Nicholson in India for automotive refinishes. It is, however, unclear whether DuPont would continue to pursue the alliance with Jenson & Nicholson in India, though no official statement on the new scenario could be got.

Under the Herberts-Jenson & Nicholson joint venture, the vehicle refinishes division of Herberts, Standox, had undertaken to collaborate with the German giant, at a cumulative investment of Rs 8 crore. The venture used Jenson & Nicholson's distribution network to market its products in the country.

The Stadox range, which accounted for an estimated 25 per cent of Herberts's global turnover of DM 2.9 billion, has apparently been the preferred refinish paint for a host of auto giants like Mercedes, Toyota, General Motors, among others.

The Herberts group which is currently headquartered in Wuppertal and employs 8,260 people,is one of the world'sleading suppliers of coating systems. It markets its product systems and services through four specific divisions: Automotive Systems, Automotive Refinishes, Industrial Liquid Coatings and Powder Coatings. In 1998, the company reported the best year-end results since its foundation in 1866, generating operating profits of DM 220 million on sales of DM 2.9 billion.