Latexx Partners has manufacturing facilities at Kamunting Industrial Estate in Perak. NSTP/WEB
NST Business
KUALA LUMPUR: Rubber glove manufacturer Latexx Partners Bhd is being sold by its
Austrian-based parent Semperit AG.
In is understood that Latexx Partners, which was delisted from Bursa Malaysia in June 2013 following its takeover by rubber and plastic products maker Semperit, would be sold for about RM300 million.
Top Glove Corp Bhd and MQ Technology Bhd (MQTech) have emerged as the frontrunners to be the new owner of Latexx Partners.
Latexx Partners has manufacturing facilities at Kamunting Industrial Estate in Perak.
It was taken private by Semperit at RM2.30 per piece and its warrant at RM1.77 in 2013.
The takeover had then made Semperit the world's second largest rubber glove manufacturer after Top Glove.
Latexx Partners subsidiaries are Latexx Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, which manufactures rubber gloves, Medtexx Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, which is engaged in the trading of rubber gloves and letting of glove manufacturing plant and machinery, Total Glove Company Sdn Bhd, which treats and processes natural rubber latex examination and surgical gloves, and Worldmed Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, which trades rubber gloves.
Semperit, which was founded in 1824, is located in Vienna with its global R&D centre in Wimpassing, lower Austria.
The group employs around 6,900 people worldwide, including close to 3,600 in Asia and about 900 in Austria.
A source said Top Glove was the top contender to buy Latexx Partner, given the vast resources of the company which boasts some RM42 billion in market capitalisation.
Alternatively, a cash payout plus issuance of new shares of a much smaller company like MQTech could be a wiser choice for Semperit.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the source said MQTech had been eyeing the medical gloves industry and it believed the sector would continue to be profitable in the long run.
"The Latexx Partners deal was also pitched to MQTech recently, and a positive outcome could be out within days," the source added.
MQTech is listed on Bursa Malaysia's ACE Market.
It manufactures products of rapid tooling, prototyping, jigs, dyes development, and other manufacturing solutions.
The company also manufactures high precision magnetic coils, coil assemblies, precision metal plates and jigs and fixtures used in the manufacture of hard disk drives, automotive and medical industries.
MQTech supplies goods and services to Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia.
https://www.nst.com.my/business/2020/06/601530/latexx-partners-sale-top-glove-mqtech-are-frontrunners
