Austria’s Semperit launches $197 mn bid for Malaysian medical glove maker Latexx

Semperit Holding AG, Austria's rubber and plastic products maker, yesterday tabled a $197 million cash takeover offer for Malaysian medical glove maker Latexx Partners Bhd.
Semperit is offering MYR 2.30 (€0.58) per share in cash and MYR 1.77 (€0.45) per warrant in cash, a premium of 28.5 per cent to Latexx closing price on 5 October.

Semperit said it has already secured a 47.3 per cent stake in Latexx from its core shareholders.

Low Bok Tek, chairman and CEO of Latexx will divest his entire 29.3 per cent stake for €0.58) per share and 67.3 per cent of all outstanding warrants €0.45) per warrant. In addition, Semperit has secured at the same prices, 9.1 per cent of the ordinary shares and 18.4 per cent of warrants from other investors in Latexx.

Listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia, Latexx is one of the largest medical glove producers in Malaysia and number six in the world. In 2011, Latexx generated revenue of €104 million) and an EBIT of €16 million).

The company owns six manufacturing plants with an annual capacity of 9 billion gloves, of which, 6 billion are manufactured with the latest technology. It sells its gloves to 80 countries, serving more than 300 customers.
 
Vienna-based Semperit said the proposed acquisition would significantly strengthen its position in the global glove market and achieve its strategic objective of reaching an annual sales volume of 23 billion gloves by 2015.
 
Semperit expects to increase its annual glove production capacity from the current level of 12 billion gloves by approximately 70 per cent to about 20 billion.
 
According to the Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council, global rubber glove industry is worth about $4.9 billion and 40 manufacturers hold a 63 per cent global market share.

"This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to our growth strategy. We will raise our global footprint by further diversifying our production in Asia and strengthening our OEM business significantly", said Thomas Fahnemann, CEO of Semperit.