Trading and distribution group Bidvest has garnered approval from the UK Competition and Markets Authority to acquire Citron Hygiene.
The parties are now working towards closing the deal.
Citron provides washroom hygiene products and services with a customer base that spans manufacturing, hospitality, facilities management, education, commercial and healthcare.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Citron serves about 50 000 customer locations from seven branches in Canada, four in the US and ten in the UK.
The acquisition is aligned with Bidvest’s strategic intent to expand its international presence in hygiene services and facilities management, as well as the distribution of plumbing and related products.
Bidvest entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Citon from Birch Hill Equity Partners in July last year.
“Citron is a meaningful player in the territory and enjoys a leading hygiene market position in Canada and in the states of the US in which it operates.
“It also has a competent management team and senior management has extensive experience in operating service businesses. In addition, revenue visibility is underpinned by the combination of essential services and long average client tenure and Citron has strong growth prospects,” Bidvest previously said.
The group added there are also attractive, sustainable returns and strong cash conversion opportunities.
“Citron’s service offering and geographic presence will be complementary to Bidvest’s Services International division. Several best practices can be shared, and infrastructure leveraged, thereby improving and deepening the overall service offering.” 