Akzo Nobel¡¯s board has rejected an offer from Nippon Paint Holdings for its decorative paints business, and continues to recommend an agreed merger with Axalta Coating Systems.

The new acquisition offer for €7.5 billion ($8.6 billion) follows multiple approaches for a deal with Akzo Nobel, which said Monday that the latest proposal ¡°significantly undervalues¡± its paints unit.

The Dutch paint-maker said both its management and supervisory boards ¡°continue to unanimously recommend¡± the merger with Axalta, which is set to create a paint maker with an enterprise value of about $25 billion.