Historic Australian company Ansell has sold its condom business to a Chinese consortium, in a deal worth $600 million.
Ansell, whose founder Eric Ansell begun making condoms in 1929, sold the division to Humanwell Healthcare Group and CITIC Capital China Partners in an all-cash deal.
Ansell chief executive Magnus Nicolin said: “It is our only consumer business, it is the only business where we’re not number one in the world, it is a business with a dramatically different go-to-market in terms of marketing spend.”
Ansell make brands including Mates, Skyn and Jissbon, whose sales have lagged recently behind those of Reckitt Benckiser’s Durex.
The Chinese condom market is set to expand rapidly in the near future, growing around 12 percent annually between 2016 and 2024, according to a Transparency Market Research report.
The sale will allow Ansell to focus on the manufacturing of its other products, including industrial and medical rubber products.
