Ansell buys UK healthcare firm Nitritex for $94.2m

Gloves and condoms producer Ansell has bought UK’s Nitritex, which makes disposable gloves and goggles, for $94.2m.

Ansell chairman Glenn Barnes and CEO Magnus Nicolin. Pic: Janine Eastgate

Ansell has purchased UK-based rubber glove and goggles maker Nitritex for £57 million ($94.2m) as it looks to further expand its offshore footprint.

The glove and condom maker (ANN) snapped up the business, which also produces sterile and non-sterile garments, face masks and accessories, using “currently available” funds at a multiple of approximately seven times EBITDA on a trailing 12 month basis.

Nitritex has a manufacturing facility in Malaysia but the majority of its sales are in Europe and Ansell says the company “has demonstrated consistent double-digit revenue and earnings growth in past years”.

“As a high-growth, high-margin vertical, Life Sciences is a strategically important business to Ansell,” Ansell CEO and managing director Magnus Nicolin said. “The acquisition of Nitritex offers Ansell a unique opportunity to accelerate growth in this segment by expanding our expertise and product range to better meet the needs of our life sciences customers.”

Ansell expects the transaction to be “marginally” EPS accretive in fiscal 2017 and approximately 2 cents earnings per share accretive in fiscal 2018.

The purchase comes as Ansell continues to weigh the sale of its own sexual wellness division, which it confirmed it has received offers on after flagging the potential demerger in August last year.

Ansell shares dropped 1.8 per cent yesterday to $23.70 but made solid ground in 2016, jumping 67 per cent from February’s low.

Analysts remain on the fence about Ansell, with Bloomberg data showing one buy, seven hold and four sell ratings with a consensus price target of $22.81.