Jan 28 (Reuters) - Dutch paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel made a binding 1.4 billion-euro ($1.7 billion) offer for Finland’s Tikkurila on Thursday, after trumping a U.S. rival's offer last week.

The Dulux paint maker stuck to the 31.25 euro per share non-binding proposal it made last week, which topped Pittsburgh-based PPG's earlier offer by 13%.

Tikkurila responded by saying it will consider Akzo's offer.

In a statement, Akzo said that "clear synergies would be created from collective procurement capabilities, expanded production, and combined sales and distribution channels."

Analysts have questioned the timing of Akzo's offer, saying it could be caught in a bidding war.

"We think Akzo is the natural acquiror given business overlap with Tikkurila and should be able to pay a higher price than PPG due to higher potential synergies," said Morningstar analyst Rob Hales, adding it would probably come down to how badly PPG wants the deal.

Tikkurila said its board may change its previous recommendation to accept PPG's tender offer if it complies with certain procedures, like giving PPG at least five business days to negotiate with the board to amend its offer.

Shares in Tikkurila closed at 32.80 euros on Thursday before the statements were made. The stock has traded above Akzo Nobel's 31.25 euros offer since it was flagged on Jan 18.

Earlier on Thursday, Tikkurila said its 2020 revenues rose 3% to around 582 million euros, while cost cuts helped adjusted operating profit to rise 38% to 64 million euros.

The Amsterdam-based Akzo Nobel, which said it does not currently hold any shares in Tikkurila, would expect to complete the deal this year, it said.

PPG tried to buy Akzo Nobel in 2017 and has announced several significant acquisitions recently.

($1 = 0.8247 euro) (Reporting by Sarah Morland in Gdansk and Tarmo Virki in Tallinn Editing by Matthew Lewis and Elaine Hardcastle)