Honeywell to snap up France’s Sperian in $1.1bn cash offer
US MANUFACTURER Honeywell has secured a deal to buy French personal protection equipment maker Sperian Protection $1.1bn (£763m) in cash, the firm said yesterday.
Honeywell’s €117-per-share offer for the maker of face masks and other protective equipment topped a prior bid by French holding company Menelas, owned by Cinven Investment Fund, which in March offered €70 per share for Sperian.
Sperian’s board unanimously approved the Honeywell offer. The US company has already signed agreements to buy the stakes of Sperian’s two largest shareholders, Essilor and Ginette Dalloz, which own 15 per cent and 13.2 per cent respectively.
Honeywell has been building its presence in the protective equipment business in recent years, notably through its $1.2bn 2008 takeover of Norcross Safety Products.
Honeywell said its offer represented a 93 per cent premium to Sperian’s share price prior to Cinven’s bid. It expects the deal dilute earnings by 4 cents per share in 2010 and be accretive in 2011.