Basic is getting bigger.

In a major move to consolidate the basic side of the apparel industry, Gildan Activewear Inc. has agreed to buy HanesBrands Inc. in a cash and stock deal that values the innerwear giant stock at $2.2 billion.

Including debt, the transaction gives HanesBrands an enterprise value of $4.4 billion, or 8.9 times the company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the last year.

The deal would be “immediately accretive” to Gildan’s adjusted earnings and produce $200 million in annual cost synergies within three years of the closing.

HanesBrands stockholders will receive 0.102 shares of Gildan and 80 cents cash for each share they own, a premium of about 24 percent based on the company’s closing price of $6 on Monday. Follow

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