Clorox to buy Purell maker for more than $2 billion, eyeing 20 million hand-sanitizer dispensers and more

By Claudia Assis

Clorox's stock drops after hours; deal would be funded mostly through debt financing

A Purell dispenser on a ferry in Canada. Clorox said that it would fund its deal for Purell maker GOJO mostly through debt.

Clorox said late Thursday it has agreed to buy GOJO Industries, the maker of Purell, for $2.25 billion in cash, in part aiming to claim a lucrative part of the healthcare business - ubiquitous hand-sanitizer dispensers.

"This is a compelling acquisition that evolves our portfolio and scales our fastest growing, most profitable operating segment - health and wellness," Clorox Chief Executive Linda Rendle said in a statement.

Investors weren't so sure. Shares of Clorox (CLX) dropped nearly 2% in the extended session Thursday, after ending the regular trading day in the black. Clorox said it plans to fund the transaction mostly through debt financing.

A deal would underscore broad investor interest in an important, though not flashy, corner of the healthcare business involving services and products to hospitals and other healthcare settings.

Medical-supplies maker MedLine (MDLN) rocketed in its December IPO on some of those same underpinnings.

The $2.25 billion deal includes anticipated tax benefits of about $330 million for a net purchase price of $1.92 billion, Clorox said.

Founded in 1946, GOJO has grown to nearly $800 million in annual sales and enjoys a "long history" of growth, the company said.

And, perhaps most attractively, more than 80% of its revenue comes from "a broad and stable network of [business-to-business] distributors underpinned by roughly 20 million soap and sanitizer dispensers that drive recurring demand," Clorox said.

Purell is the No. 1 hand-sanitizer brand in hospitals and other businesses, as well as retail, it said.

Clorox brands include eponymous cleaners and run the gamut of consumer products, including Fresh Step cat litter, Kingsford charcoal and Hidden Valley Ranch dressings.

The deal is expected to be completed before the end of Clorox's fiscal year, which ends in September, and will be subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

Clorox has a "mixed" history of acquisition integration, analysts at BofA Securities said in a note Friday. It bought vitamin and supplement maker Nutranex in 2018 but sold it 2024 along with another wellness brand. Its 2007 acquisition of Burt's Bees later resulted in a $250 million charge in 2011.

-Claudia Assis

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01-23-26 1039ET