Key Takeaways:
- H.B. Fuller offers £2.85 per share, a 35% premium to AMS's undisturbed price
- Deal valued at £715 million enterprise value, or 12.9x pre-synergy EBITDA
- Expected to close by year-end, adding ~$300 million in annual revenue
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H.B. Fuller to buy UK medtech AMS for £628 million in cash deal
H.B. Fuller Co. agreed to acquire Advanced Medical Solutions Group Plc for £628 million in cash, pushing the world's largest pureplay adhesives maker deeper into the higher-margin healthcare market.
"This transaction is a rare opportunity to advance the evolution of our portfolio," said Celeste Mastin, president and chief executive officer of H.B. Fuller. "Medical is a core strategic growth market given its durable demand trends, high regulatory-based entry barriers, and margin profile."
The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company will pay £2.85 per AMS share, a 35 percent premium to the stock's close in May before news of the talks emerged. The deal implies a total enterprise value of £715 million, or 12.9 times consensus 2026 EBITDA. Including roughly $55 million in expected cost savings and revenue gains from combining the two businesses, the multiple drops below 8 times, H.B. Fuller said.
The acquisition marks a significant step in H.B. Fuller's push into medical adhesives, a market with durable growth trends and high regulatory barriers that protect incumbent players. AMS, a UK-based developer of tissue-healing products, brings a portfolio of surgical adhesive technologies, a pan-European salesforce, and manufacturing facilities across the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Thailand and India. The combined company's total addressable market expands by $15 billion to $95 billion.
H.B. Fuller expects the deal to add roughly $300 million in annual revenue and accelerate its path to a long-term target of more than 20 percent EBITDA margins. The company plans to establish a new global business unit for the medical segment, which will immediately account for about 10 percent of combined revenue and EBITDA. H.B. Fuller has acquired and integrated 11 companies since 2023, increasing EBITDA by 55 percent and margins by more than 1,000 basis points across that portfolio.
The transaction will be fully financed through committed debt financing. H.B. Fuller expects to reduce its leverage to a target of 2.5 to 3 times debt-to-EBITDA within two years after closing. The deal requires AMS shareholder approval and customary regulatory clearances, with completion expected by the end of the calendar year.
Perella Weinberg Partners and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisers to H.B. Fuller, with Ashurst LLP and Perkins Coie LLP as legal counsel.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
