Top Glove moves to acquire Aspion

 

Top Glove Corporation Bhd (Top Glove) signed an unsecured syndicated credit facilities agreement for US$310 million with a consortium of 8 banks. This represents the largest syndicated credit facility closed by Top Glove, the proceeds of which will be used for the acquisition of Aspion Sdn Bhd, one of the world's largest surgical glove producers, for a purchase amount of RM1.37 billion.

 

The highly successful syndication which drew the interest of several international and local banks, was led by Citi as the sole coordinator in partnership with 7 other financial institutions. The lenders for the facility are: Citibank Berhad; Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Malaysia) Berhad; Hong Leong Bank; Mizuho Bank (Malaysia) Berhad; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Malaysia Berhad; BNP Paribas; Bangkok Bank Berhad; and Bank of China. 

 

The strong response from investors led to significant over subscriptions with commitments of 2.5x of the facility size. The $310 million credit facilities which comprises $155 million 2-year term loan facility and $155 million 5-year murabaha facility was signed by Top Glove Executive Chairman, Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai and the Chief Executive Officer of Citi Malaysia, Mr Lee Lung Nien, along with representatives from each partner bank.

 

Earlier, at an EGM held on 8 March 2018, Top Glove’s shareholders unanimously approved a resolution to proceed with its proposed acquisition of Aspion. The acquisition is targeted for completion by early April 2018, upon which Top Glove will emerge the global leader in surgical glove manufacturing, further solidifying its status as the world’s largest manufacturer of gloves. The acquisition of Aspion is one of many M&A exercises Top Glove will look to undertake in support of its ambitious growth agenda, which includes becoming a Top 20 Bursa Company by 2020 and

Fortune Global 500 Company by 2040.