From Chisato Horiuchi in Tokyo, Japan
Nitto Denko announced on the 17th that it will acquire the materials business for disposable diapers and sanitary napkins from Mondi, a major British paper manufacturer. The purchase price is about 600 million euros (about 80 billion yen), which is the largest scale ever for the company. Expand sales of hygiene products mainly in Europe, and aim to break away from dependence on the current mainstay display materials.
By the end of the year, Mondi will acquire four companies based in Germany, China and the United States that are engaged in this business. Manufactures and sells disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, and materials used in masks. Excluding the United States, which is not disclosed, business sales for the fiscal year ended December 2020 totaled more than 40 billion yen, and the final loss was about 1.6 billion yen.
Nitto Denko focused on the disposable diaper market with the acquisition of Turkish industrial tape giant Bent in 2012, and started to expand sales of elastic materials in the Middle East and Africa. Utilizing Mondi's development technology and sales channels, we aim to expand our business in Europe and elsewhere.
This is the first acquisition of a scale exceeding 10 billion yen. It has indicated a plan to allocate 150 billion yen to M & A (merger / acquisition) in the three years up to the fiscal year ending March 2012.
Nitto Denko expects that its business centered on liquid crystal materials will account for about 65% of the company's operating income in the fiscal year ending March 2010. Demand for liquid crystal displays fluctuates greatly, and it has been a long-standing issue to break away from too high dependence. With the acquisition of Mondi's business, the company hopes to expand businesses other than displays and improve management stability.
