Clorox to buy Purell maker GOJO Industries for $2.25 billion

Jan 22 (Reuters) – Clorox said on Thursday it would buy privately held skin health and hygiene solutions firm GOJO Industries for $2.25 billion in cash, as the Pine Sol maker looks to expand its position in health and hygiene segments.

GOJO Industries, which saw sales of its hand sanitizer brand Purell normalize after skyrocketing during the pandemic, was exploring options including a full sale or divesting a minority stake, sources told Reuters in September.

The Lippman-Kanfer family that owns GOJO tried to sell their Akron, Ohio-based company in 2023 but were not able to get the price they wanted, even after talks with interested buyers like Georgia-Pacific. Instead, they took on $500 million in new debt from Silver Point Finance to refinance existing debt and support operations.

The bleach maker’s deal totaling $2.25 billion includes a $1.92 billion purchase price with about $330 million in expected tax benefits.

Clorox plans to fund the transaction primarily through debt financing. It is expected to be completed before the end of Clorox’s fiscal 2026.

The deal is poised to generate at least $50 million in run-rate cost synergies, Clorox said in the statement.

The company said GOJO will remain based in Ohio and that it will fold the business into Clorox’s operations.

Clorox, which has been enjoying strong demand for its cleaning products, reaffirmed its annual sales forecast of a 6% to 10% drop in sales and adjusted profit of between $5.95 and $6.30 per share.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)