Bain Capital Private Equity said it has reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended final cash offer for the UK manufacturer of cleaning and hygiene chemicals and related products.
Zenith Hygiene serves customers in the healthcare, food service, hospitality, pharmaceutical and food and beverage processing industries.
The company employs more than 500 people and generated net sales of £67m in the fiscal year ending February 2017.
Benefit from global platform
Ringo Francis, CEO of Zenith Hygiene Group, said it will benefit from Bain Capital’s global platform and growth plans for Diversey.
“During the past 20 years, we have successfully grown the business by developing a comprehensive product offering in the UK and Ireland. We believe that all customers will benefit from the combination of both companies’ innovations and application expertise.”
Bain Capital Private Equity said Zenith Hygiene’s directors intend to unanimously recommend that Zenith Hygiene Shareholders accept it.
The acquisition will be funded with cash from Diversey’s balance sheet.
Completion is anticipated to happen in Q1 2018 subject to antitrust clearance.
Acquisition a first step in growth
“We are committed to growing Diversey’s geographic reach and the addition of Zenith Hygiene would be a first valuable step towards creating a world-class provider of cleaning and hygiene solutions,” said Michel Plantevin, a managing director of Bain Capital Private Equity.
Sealed Air completed the sale of its Diversey Care division and the food hygiene and cleaning business to Bain Capital Private Equity for $3.2bn last month.
The business will employ 8,600 people in 87 countries and generated combined net sales of $2.6bn in 2016.
Sealed Air bought Diversey for $4.3bn in 2011.
Dr Ilham Kadri, president and CEO of Diversey, said the deal would build its local scale in the UK and Ireland.
“This combination, with the backing of Bain Capital, would create significant scale and help us serve a broader base of customers in key markets around the world.”
Law firm Baker McKenzie is advising Bain Capital Private Equity on its proposed acquisition, through its portfolio company Diversey, of Zenith Hygiene Group.
Rothschild acted for Bain Capital and Bidco, Shore Capital for Zenith and Cavendish for Zenith and its majority shareholders.