Essential components business Essentra has offloaded its filters business to a wholly owned subsidiary of Centaury Management for an enterprise value of approximately £262.1m.
Essentra said on Monday that it had sold its filters unit, and also consolidated 100% of certain joint ventures, with the sale price implying a June 2022 last twelve months adjusted operating profit multiple of 8.2x.
The FTSE 250-listed group said the consideration for the division was comprised of roughly £200.0m initial consideration, due on completion, on a cash-free, debt-free basis, as well as up to £20.0m deferred earn-out consideration.
Essentra added that it now intends to return approximately £150.0m to shareholders via a special dividend after the disposal of the filters unit is completed.
Separately, Essentra revealed that following strategic reviews of its filters and packaging divisions, chief executive Paul Forman had decided to step down from the role at the end of the current financial year on 31 December.
Forman will be succeeded by Scott Fawcett, currently the managing director of Essentra’s components division, on 1 January 2023. Forman will work closely with Fawcett and the group’s board to ensure “a smooth transition” and support the group’s move towards being a pure play components business.
As of 0920 BST, Essentra shares were up 10.60% at 201.96p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
