Yule Catto, the Essex headquartered polymer business, has sold its pharmaceuticals division, Uquifa, to the Indian firm Vivimed Labs.
Yule will receive £35m for Urquifa, the company which makes active pharmaceutical ingredients for the wider pharma industry. It operates three manufacturing sites, two in Spain and one in Mexico, employing a total of 390 people.
Vivimed will pay £28.6m in cash, with a further £6.4m to be paid in three years time. The proceeds will be used to pay down Yule's debt.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Commenting on the disposal, Yule Catto's chief executive Adrian Whitfield said:
"I am delighted to be able to announce this disposal. Following the PolymerLatex acquisition we completed earlier this year, this marks the final step in a long process of transforming Yule Catto into a substantial highly focussed Specialty Polymer business."
Today's announcement indicated the deal would be slightly dilutive to Yule's earnings, but its shares were down 0.18% in early trading. Over the year to date Yule Catto has fallen 16%.
BS
-
Investors pull money from UK equities as government warns of “painful” BudgetThe government’s post-election honeymoon period has been short-lived, and investors are shying away from UK equities as a result
-
Top global fintech companies to invest inOne British fintech hogs the headlines, but there are two top performers in the US. We explain where you should put your money
