London, June 25, 2026, 09:23 BST
- AMS jumped 16.1% at 278.5p after the company got a recommended 285p cash bid.
- Early trading saw 13.9 million shares change hands, or 6.3% of shares outstanding.
- H.B. Fuller said with all synergies counted, the stated EBITDA multiple drops from 12.9 times to under 8 times.
Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc shares jumped 16.1% to 278.5 pence Thursday after H.B. Fuller Company said it would acquire the company at 285p per share in cash. The stock quote at 08:56 BST was 6.5p, or 2.3%, under the offer price.
AMS’s fully diluted equity is valued at £659 million in the offer, with an enterprise value put at £715 million. The price is 34.8% above the 212p undisturbed close on May 20, but the premium over Wednesday’s 240p close is 18.8%.
About 13.9 million shares traded hands early, broker data showed—6.3% of the 220.45 million in issue. The FTSE AIM 100 slipped 0.15%.
The spread is tight, signaling the market sees a high probability this deal closes, but the deadline isn’t until the end of 2026. The parties may need to get merger nods in Austria, Germany, the UK, and the US. Reviews on foreign investment could also be triggered in Austria, France, and Luxembourg.
H.B. Fuller says it values the deal at 12.9 times AMS’s expected 2026 adjusted EBITDA of £55.2 million. That drops to under 8 times once synergies are included, cutting the multiple by over 38%.
The buyer is aiming for roughly $55 million, or £41 million, in yearly revenue and cost synergies by 2031. The split is $20 million on the commercial side and $35 million in cost cuts. More than half should come in by 2028. The £41 million includes both revenue and savings and isn’t a projection for extra EBITDA.
H.B. Fuller says debt financing is locked in. The company is looking at net leverage of 4.0x on closing, or 3.7x with run-rate synergies. It’s aiming for 2.5 to 3.0x over the next two years.
That leverage was already a sticking point for Ancora Holdings, which owns over 2% of H.B. Fuller. Ancora chairman and CEO Fredrick D. DiSanto and James Chadwick, president of Ancora Alternatives, called for dropping the AMS bid in a May letter: “The pursuit of AMS must be abandoned.” H.B. Fuller answered that its M&A process is disciplined and said it would approach AMS just like past acquisitions. Business Wire
AMS Chair Grahame Cook said the board is backing the deal. “The AMS Directors are pleased to unanimously recommend the Acquisition, which delivers attractive and certain value in cash to AMS Shareholders,” Cook said. Investegate
H.B. Fuller CEO Celeste Mastin called the deal “a rare opportunity to advance the evolution of our portfolio.” The company said it expects the purchase to lift EBITDA margin by roughly 100 basis points inside of two years. Business Wire
Shareholders need to back the scheme by a majority in number at the court meeting and at least 75% by value. A different resolution also needs 75% of votes cast. The scheme document should come within 28 days.
