Investing.com -- Shares of German consumer goods company Henkel AG (OTC:HENKY) & Co. KGaA (ETR:HEN3) climbed 1% after the company announced the sale of its retailer brands business in North America to an affiliate of First Quality Enterprises, LLC.
The transaction, part of Henkel's strategic portfolio optimization, marks the conclusion of a divestment plan initiated in February 2022.
Henkel has been actively reshaping its consumer brands portfolio, having sold or discontinued brands and activities that generated sales of just over 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion) since the beginning of last year.
The financial terms of the latest deal with First Quality Enterprises were not disclosed, but the move is seen as the final step in the company's previously announced optimization strategy.
Analysts at Jefferies weighed in on the implications of the divestiture: "We estimate that with an assumed divestment valuation of c€500m, HEN will be running with net cash on the balance sheet of over $1bn. That provides flexibility for more substantial acquisitions (notably in Consumer we think) and could also facilitate a return of a share buyback this year of at least €1bn, in our view."
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