Comment on the recent AMS takeover speculation

Three days after my AMS initiation note, the company confirmed another takeover approach — qualitatively different from the previous five.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL), the US adhesives major, tabled an unsolicited cash proposal on 30 April. Critically, this is a strategic buyer, not financial. Fuller already makes medical adhesives and wants to bolt on AMS’s wound-closure portfolio — exactly the platform extension my initiation flagged as the bull-case scenario.

That changes the maths. Strategics can extract revenue synergies PE cannot, so the price ceiling sits materially above the 270–280p that PE consistently walked away from. The bull case in my initiation pointed to “350p+” precisely for this reason.

Two caveats. First, Fuller’s own commentary noted they continue to evaluate “other assets in the medical adhesives market” — AMS isn’t necessarily their only target, which limits how much premium they need to pay. Second, the board’s track record suggests they’ll hold the line on price.

Shares up ~16% to 225p. Rule 2.6 deadline is 18 June. I remain a holder.