Axalta Coating Systems Ltd

Billionaire value investor Seth Klarman's Baupost Group opened three new positions in the second quarter, according to its latest 13F filing. The largest is CME Group Inc., where the fund bought 619,000 shares worth about $136.69 million, giving the exchange operator 2.52% of Baupost's 13F portfolio. Baupost also picked up 1,274,356 shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. worth roughly $43.61 million, or 0.81% of the portfolio, and 392,000 shares of Pagaya Technologies Ltd. worth about $12.88 million, or 0.24%. CME's revenue rose about 1% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while adjusted earnings per share also rose 1%, a modest gain the article attributes to a difficult comparison with an exceptionally strong second quarter a year earlier. CME open interest rose 8% year over year to 127 million contracts in the quarter, and the company plans to launch Treasury Link, which is intended to connect cash Treasury and futures trading more directly. CME trades at a forward non-GAAP price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42x, nearly double the sector median of 11.30x, and a forward non-GAAP PEG ratio of 3.28x versus a sector median of 1.07x.

Axalta Coating Systems reported second quarter 2026 earnings on July 28, showing modest sales growth but lower net income and earnings per share, and issued guidance for low single-digit net sales growth. The stock has returned 28.72% over the past year and 29.14% over the last 90 days, pushing its share price to $35.81. One widely followed valuation narrative estimates fair value at $35.71, suggesting the stock is about 30% overvalued, while a Simply Wall St discounted cash flow model points to a much higher fair value of $88.11 per share. The bullish case rests on rising demand for advanced and sustainable coatings driven by electric vehicle adoption, regulatory shifts toward low-VOC products, and innovations such as next-generation waterborne basecoats and the NexJet digital paint system, though risks remain if Performance Coatings volumes stay weak or mix shifts toward lower-priced body shops.

Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating whether Patrick Industries, Axalta Coating Systems, and Equitable Holdings are obtaining fair deals for their shareholders. The firm is examining Patrick Industries' merger with LCI Industries, where Patrick shareholders would own approximately 52% of the combined company, Axalta's sale to Akzo Nobel for 0.6539 shares of AkzoNobel stock per Axalta share, and Equitable Holdings' merger with Corebridge Financial, exchanging each Equitable share for 1.55516 shares of the combined company, leaving Equitable shareholders with about 49% ownership. Halper Sadeh may seek increased consideration or additional disclosures on behalf of shareholders, and encourages them to contact the firm at no cost to discuss their legal rights and options.

Nippon Paint Holdings announced on the 13th that it has proposed to acquire the architectural coatings business of Dutch paint giant AkzoNobel. It has offered a total of 7.5 billion euros. In April, Nippon Paint Holdings jointly made a full takeover bid for AkzoNobel with US paint giant Sherwin-Williams, but the company rejected it. AkzoNobel announced plans last November to merge with US peer Axalta.

Axalta Coating Systems has scheduled a special meeting of stockholders for August 5, 2026, to vote on its proposed all-share merger of equals with AkzoNobel. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective the registration statement filed by AkzoNobel on June 23, and Axalta has filed a definitive proxy statement with further details. Completion of the merger remains subject to shareholder approvals at both companies, regulatory clearances, and other customary conditions, with closing expected at the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027.