Bunzl in double buy, to sell French unit OPM
Company says US tax cuts won't impact 2017
International distributor Bunzl on Thursday said it had bought two businesses in the US and the UK and was planning to sell one in France.
No financial details were disclosed.
In a separate announcement, the company said recent changes to US tax law would no material impact on 2017 results and cut its effective 2018 tax rate for to around 24%.
Bunzl purchased California-based Revco for an undisclosed sum. The firm designs, develops and distributes workplace safety and personal protection equipment to redistributors in the welding and industrial sectors, throughout the US.
Revenue in the year to December 2017 is expected to be $37m Bunzl said.
The second acquisition is UK-based Aggora Group which makes commercial catering equipment. Revenue in the year to March 2017 was £27m, Bunzl said.
Bunzl added that it received a binding offer to sell French outfit OPM, originally acquired as part of Groupe Pierre Le Goff in 2004, to an unnamed buyer.
“It is a non-core business which has most recently focused on the distribution and sale of SodaStream products to retailers throughout France and the company has decided that it is now an appropriate time to sell the business,” the company said.
Revenue in the year ended to December 2017 was €57m. Completion of the deal is subject to a consultation process with unions and a sale and purchase agreement.
Bunzl said it expected the deal to complete in the first quarter of 2018.
It added that the acquisition of Talge, announced in November, has been completed following clearance of the transaction by the Brazilian competition authority.