31 January 2017 – Melbourne/Brussels - Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN), a global leader in protection solutions, today announces it has acquired Nitritex Limited, a fast-growing UK-based, manufacturer of premium cleanroom and healthcare Life Sciences consumables. The total consideration is £57 million including £12 million of cash. The net purchase price of £45 million (approx. US$56 million) is equivalent to a multiple of approximately seven times adjusted EBITDA on a trailing 12 month basis.

Founded in 1996, Nitritex, through its flagship brand, BioClean™ manufactures a broad range of sterile and non-sterile consumables including disposable gloves, garments, goggles, face masks and accessories. The company has strong capabilities in supporting the demanding standards of cleanroom and healthcare Life Sciences customers in more than 80 countries, with the majority of its sales in Europe. Nitritex has a manufacturing facility in Malaysia focused on cleanroom processing and packing, as well as specialized glove manufacturing. 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,” said Magnus Nicolin, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Ansell. “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.”

The transaction is expected to be marginally EPS accretive in F17 after acquisition costs and approximately 2 cents EPS accretive in F18. The acquisition will be funded by currently available facilities.

ENDS