VIENNA, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Austrian rubber and plastic products maker Semperit Holding AG has increased its stake in Malaysian medical glove maker Latexx Partners Bhd
to nearly 60 percent by buying 12 percent on the open market on Tuesday, it said.
Semperit this week launched a $197.4 million cash offer for Latexx, securing an initial 47 percent stake from core shareholders.
The acquisition would give Semperit access to Malaysia's glove industry, a world leader due to its access to rubber, and help it move towards its planned annual sales volume of 23 billion gloves by 2015, the company said.
The global rubber glove industry, worth about $4.9 billion, has consolidated from 65 industry players controlling 45 percent of world market share in 2000 to 40 players commanding some 63 percent in 2012, according to the Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council.
Semperit has now secured a 59.3 percent stake in Latexx, a statement said, noting the takeover was still subject to regulatory approvals.
"Semperit is confident that it will be able to acquire the majority of Latexx Partners once the mentioned conditions are fulfilled," it added.
Semperit offered 2.30 ringgit per share and 1.77 ringgit per warrant, valuing Latexx, the world's sixth-largest medical gloves maker, at 512 million ringgit based on its current shares outstanding.
The offer price represented a 28.5 percent premium to Latexx's closing price on Friday, and was 37.7 percent above the three-month volume weighted average price of Latexx's shares, Semperit said. Latexx closed up 25.7 percent at 2.250 ringgit.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; additional reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Louise Heavens)
((Michael.Shields@thomsonreuters.com)(+43 1 531 12 258)(Reuters Messaging: michael.shields.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: SEMPERIT LATEXX/