What is the stated strategic rationale behind H.B. Fuller's proposed acquisition of AMS, and how does Fuller expect it to impact its financial profile?

H.B. Fuller states that AMS’s large European salesforce across healthcare markets, hospital systems, and specialty distributors will facilitate immediate cross-selling opportunities, while AMS will leverage Fuller’s significant US infrastructure and distribution network to accelerate US penetration; the deal expands Fuller’s total addressable market by $15 billion to $95 billion, increases annual revenues by approximately $300 million, enables about $55 million in combined run-rate revenue and cost synergies by 2031, and will be fully financed through 100% committed financing, with Fuller expecting to rapidly deleverage to its target leverage ratio of 2.5x to 3.0x within two years of closing.

Why is activist investor Ancora Holdings criticizing H.B. Fuller’s acquisition of AMS, and what specific concerns does it raise about corporate governance and capital allocation?

Ancora Holdings criticizes the acquisition as 'disingenuous at best and deceitful at worst,' accusing Fuller’s leadership of conducting a 'sneak[ing] out a press release in the dead of night' to soften market backlash, pursuing an entrenchment maneuver over shareholder objections, abandoning earlier commitments to share repurchases and deleveraging, executing a levered cross-border acquisition 'akin to a poison pill' soon after Ancora began engagement, and engaging in years of ineffective capital allocation, insular governance, and negative total returns.

H.B. Fuller’s Acquisition of AMS Faces Renewed Criticism from Activist

Jun 26, 2026

H.B. Fuller proposed a £715 million acquisition of wound-care supplier AMS, facing criticism from activist investor Ancora Holdings who urged deleveraging. The deal aims to expand market reach and achieve synergies by 2031.

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