The Asset No One Lists on the Balance Sheet

Clorox agreed to acquire GOJO Industries, the maker of PURELL, for approximately $2.25 billion in cash, or about $1.9 billion after expected tax benefits. On paper, the price reflects a mature hygiene brand in a post-pandemic world.

Clorox didn’t acquire PURELL because hand sanitizer is exciting. It acquired it because in regulated environments, trust behaves like infrastructure.

Hospitals, schools, airports, and corporate campuses don’t shop for hygiene the way consumers do. These decisions are governed by protocols, approvals, training, and liability. Once a product becomes the default, replacing it is no longer a purchasing decision — it’s a risk decision.

PURELL didn’t win because it marketed better. It won because it became acceptable to the people responsible for compliance. That acceptance compounds quietly over time until it becomes dominance.

This is the kind of asset that rarely shows up cleanly in a data room — but strategic buyers know exactly how valuable it is.

This acquisition follows a familiar pattern in industries where failure carries consequences.

Ecolab dominates sanitation in restaurants, food processing plants, and healthcare. Its products are not flashy. What they offer instead is consistency that has already been approved, documented, and trained against.

Switching sanitation providers means retraining staff, rewriting procedures, and risking inspection failures. Over time, Ecolab didn’t just sell chemicals — it embedded itself into operations.

The moat wasn’t innovation. It was the cost of uncertainty.

During COVID, dozens of new PPE brands flooded the market. Yet hospitals and government agencies overwhelmingly defaulted to 3M respirators whenever possible.

Even in a crisis, buyers avoided experimentation. Certifications, procurement history, and institutional trust mattered more than speed or price.

When risk rises, institutions don’t explore — they retreat to what’s already approved.

Cintas supplies uniforms, restroom products, and safety equipment to businesses that could source these items themselves. Companies stay not because Cintas is cheapest, but because it removes compliance friction.

Once compliance is outsourced, the provider becomes hard to displace. PURELL’s wall-mounted dispensers function the same way. They don’t just dispense sanitizer — they signal compliance without requiring thought.

Clorox didn’t buy a consumer brand. It bought a position inside environments where experimentation is discouraged and defaults endure.

PURELL is less about scent, packaging, or shelf space — and more about risk management. In regulated settings, trust compounds faster than innovation. Once embedded, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to replace.

For operators and owners, the lesson is blunt:

The most valuable businesses aren’t always the fastest-growing. They’re the ones buyers are afraid to change.

Acquisitions like this don’t happen because a product is popular. They happen because a business has positioned itself inside environments where replacement feels unnecessary — or unsafe.

PURELL’s value wasn’t created in marketing campaigns. It was created through acceptance, repetition, and institutional comfort. Clorox recognized that what looks ordinary on the surface can be structurally valuable underneath.

For owners building with an eventual exit in mind, the lesson is clear:

Build something your customers rely on without thinking — and buyers will notice.

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