Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC on Friday said it has struck a $4.8 billion deal to sell a majority chunk of its Essential Home division, which houses the Cillit Bang, Calgon and Air Wick range. The consumer goods firm said the portfolio will be sold to Advent International LP in a deal which values it at $4.8 billion. The Slough, England-based firm will retain a 30% stake in the unit, however. The $4.8 billion enterprise value includes up to $1.3 billion of contingent and deferred consideration. The 30% interest will be retained through a stake in Advent’s acquisition vehicle, ‘providing a potential long-term value enhancement opportunity’. In July 2024, Reckitt announced plans to focus on a portfolio of ‘high-growth, high-margin Powerbrands’. It said it would exit Essential Home and consider options for the Mead Johnson nutrition business, deemed as non-core. ‘The transaction is a key part of this strategy and represents a significant step forward in reshaping Reckitt,’ the firm said on Friday. Reckitt said it will return excess cash of around $2.2 billion to shareholders in the form of a special dividend with a share consolidation once the deal is sealed. The dividend will be in addition to its ongoing buyback. Reckitt plans to announce the next portion of its buyback alongside first half results next week Thursday. The acquisition by Advent is expected to be completed at the end of this year. Chief Executive Officer Kris Licht said: ‘This moves Reckitt towards becoming a simpler, more effective world-class consumer health and hygiene company and it will enable us to focus on a core portfolio of high-growth, high-margin Powerbrands. Essential Home will benefit from Advent’s new majority ownership with our retained minority stake in Essential Home providing a potential long-term value enhancement opportunity for Reckitt,’ Essential Home achieved net revenue of £2.0 billion in 2024, 14% of what Reckitt achieved as a whole. In the quarter ended March 31, Essential Home’s net revenue amounted to £482 million, a like-for-like decline of 7.0% on-year. The company added: ‘The Essential Home portfolio includes the global brands Air Wick, Calgon, Woolite, Cillit Bang, Resolve, Sole and Easy-Off, as well as around 75 other brands across over 70 markets. Essential Home will also own the Mortein brand in North America, Europe and LATAM. ‘Reckitt’s interest in six manufacturing plants will transfer with Essential Home, including plants in Tijuana (Mexico), Tatabanya (Hungary), Derby (UK), Granollers (Spain), Porto Alto (Portugal) and Florencio (Argentina), with a plan to separate part of the Raposo plant (Brazil) in due course.’ Reckitt shares fell 0.5% at 4,982.00 pence each in London on Thursday. Since announcing the shake-up around a year ago, the stock has risen some 10%. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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