H.B. Fuller Co. said Monday it would not pursue Ancora Holdings Group’s unsolicited bid to acquire its Building Adhesive Solutions business for up to $1.2 billion, citing undervaluation and insufficient information to evaluate the proposal.
The board of the adhesives manufacturer rejected the offer, which Ancora first broached with H.B. Fuller’s CEO and chairman in July and later formalized in a letter sent earlier this month. In a statement, H.B. Fuller said the bid materially undervalues the segment, fails to account for its growth potential, and overlooks its strategic importance to the company’s broader adhesives operations. The board also noted the proposal lacked key details required to assess its merits.
Ancora argued that a carve-out transaction would enable H.B. Fuller to reduce debt and sharpen its focus on integrating Advanced Medical Solutions Group Plc, which it acquired earlier this year. The firm contended that exiting the low-margin building adhesives business in a fragmented market would address what it described as a ‘leverage crisis’ at H.B. Fuller. Ancora asserted it could self-finance the deal and increase its offer rapidly, stating that any reasonable assessment of its proposal would confirm its financial capacity.
H.B. Fuller’s shares were unchanged in premarket trading on Monday, following a 0.78% decline to $58.70 in the prior session. The company did not provide additional details on its integration plans for Advanced Medical Solutions or its long-term strategy for the adhesives segment in its rejection of Ancora’s bid.
