Yahoo Movies U.S. lab products provider Avantor to buy Germany's Ritter for $1.1 bln
FRANKFURT, April 12 (Reuters) - U.S. laboratory products supplier Avantor said on Monday it had agreed to buy German peer Ritter GmbH for 890 million euros ($1.1 billion) in cash.
Ritter, which makes robotic and liquid-handling consumables for laboratories such as racks, dispensers and cartridges, saw demand for its products spike in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its family owners worked with Goldman Sachs to scout the market for potential partners to finance its global expansion, people familiar with the matter had said in February.
Avantor said the transaction comes in the wake of 40 completed M&A deals, in which it deployed more than $8 billion in capital and generated well over $350 million in EBITDA synergies.
The transaction, which Avantor is financing mainly with available cash on hand, is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) upon closure expected in the third quarter, the company said.
Jefferies and Centerview, as well as Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz, advised Avantor, while Goldman Sachs, Carlsquare and Gleiss Lutz advised Ritter, with Citi financing the transaction.
($1 = 0.8394 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze Editing by David Holmes)
