Terms agreed for Bain Capital's acquisition of Zenith Hygiene

Global private investment firm Bain Capital Private Equity, has confirmed that through its ownership of cleaning and hygiene supplier Diversey it has reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended final cash offer for Zenith Hygiene Group plc, a UK manufacturer of cleaning and hygiene chemicals and related products.

Hertfordshire-based Zenith Hygiene founded in 1996 by CEO Ringo Francis, offers a wide range of products serving customers in the healthcare, hospitality, leisure and facilities management, 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.

Diversey is a global supplier of hygiene and cleaning solutions and globally employs approximately 8,600 people and generated net sales of approximately $2.6b (£1.8b) in 2016.

Michel Plantevin, managing director of Bain Capital Private Equity, said: "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."

Francis, added: "We are excited to join Diversey and be part of a group benefiting from Bain Capital's integrated global platform and bold 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."

Dr. Ilham Kadri, president and chief executive officer of Diversey, commented: "I am excited by the opportunity to build Diversey's local scale in the UK and Ireland with the acquisition of Zenith Hygiene. 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."

Zenith Hygiene's directors, consider Bain Capital's offer to be fair and reasonable and 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 take place during Q1 of 2018, subject to customary anti-trust clearance.

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