H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE: FUL) announced that its board of directors unanimously rejected an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Ancora to acquire its Building Adhesives Solutions (BAS) business segment.

The board, advised by independent financial and legal advisors, determined that Ancora's proposed valuation of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion was substantially below precedent transactions and did not reflect full value for the business. The board also cited a lack of detail on Ancora's ability to finance the transaction or operate BAS independently.

According to a letter from board chair Teresa J. Rasmussen, the BAS segment posted 6% organic revenue growth year-over-year in the second quarter, along with a 10% improvement in EBITDA. The board said it expects BAS to be a significant earnings contributor as construction end markets recover.

The board also noted that a carve-out of BAS, which shares manufacturing with other H.B. Fuller businesses across more than 30 plants worldwide, would create material operating inefficiencies that would offset the benefits of debt reduction.

H.B. Fuller said it remains focused on closing and integrating its acquisition of Advanced Medical Solutions and continuing its Project Quantum Leap initiative, which involves footprint rationalization. The company said it expects to bring its leverage ratio back within its target range of 2.5x to 3.0x within two years of completing the Advanced Medical Solutions transaction.

The information in this article is based on a press release issued by H.B. Fuller.