Air Liquide in talks with EQT over Schülke sale

Exclusive talks between private equity group EQT Partners and Air Liquide about the €900-million purchase of its hand sanitiser brand Schülke are underway as the company ramps up its production following the Coronavirus pandemic.

This deal comes as companies attempt to keep their brands from falling through in the wake of the markets drying up, making negotiations such as this rare.

Christian Sinding, CEO of EQT said: “We are experiencing a short-term increase of demand, and we are doing everything in our power to distribute our product as widely as possible.”

“I think the world has now learned the importance of sanitisation and good hygiene, particularly in the prevention of spreading germs and viruses. We think this trend will continue in the long term.”

Schülke was put up for sale last year, a significant amount of time before the pandemic, and was given a roughly €1-billion price tag.  Following the rise of Coronavirus, Air Liquide has been seeking a premium.

This deal comes as the price for one of the main chemical ingredients, isopropyl alcohol, has hit record highs in Europe, reflecting a surge in demand. Many companies have shifted their production to help meet the demand on this shortage of alcohol-based gels.

The original bidding was due to start in late April, but the current events forced EQT to prematurely end the process by putting together a fully financed offer. They turned to HPS Investment Partners, a private credit investment company, to secure financing for the deal.

Mr Sinding added: “Schülke is really busy working day and night to deliver these urgent supplies to the market – and our aim is to deliver something concrete and rapid.

“We’re not looking to maximise leverage in this situation because it would be too expensive. EQT are using a higher proportion of equity than we would have one quarter ago.”

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