(Reuters) – Consumer goods firm Reckitt said on Friday that it has agreed to sell its Essential Home business, maker of Air Wick fresheners, to private equity firm Advent International in a deal valued at $4.8 billion including debt.
Reckitt said it would retain a 30% stake in the unit.
Reuters exclusively reported last month that the two parties were in talks over a sale, with Reckitt likely to retain a minority stake in the unit, which also makes Cillit Bang cleaners.
Reckitt said it plans to return excess capital to shareholders, including a special dividend of about $2.2 billion and a share consolidation after the deal closes.
Essential Home business, which accounted for about 13% of Reckitt’s group revenue in the first quarter, has struggled for several quarters, with sales falling 7% in the first three months of the year.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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