Case Studies
The following case studies are available for download from the Global M&A website:Etex Group SA, the privately owned Belgian construction materials group, has acquired Projiso Espana. Projiso is a European leader in special coatings for structural passive fire protection, sound reverberation control and acoustical correction, spray applied thermal insulation, vapor condensation control and interior decoration. This complex deal involved financial, legal and fiscal issues in three European countries. Global M&A partners Livingstone Guarantee (UK) and NC Finanzas Corporativas (Spain) represented Etex.
La Robinetterie Industrielle, a French distributor of valves and pumps with annual sales of approximately euro 40m, was sold on behalf of its Australian owner GSA Group Pty Ltd of Melbourne to French private equity house Quartus and management. Financiere de Courcelles (France) and Livingstone Guarantee (UK) served as financial advisors to GSA.
Tecnocap, SpA, of Cava dei Tirreni, Italy acquired US-based Penn Wheeling Closure, a niche manufacturer of continuous-thread metal closures for specialty foods, wine, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, with 2005 sales of US$35 million.
A&Z Arbeit & Zeit GmbH, a Hamburg based blue-collar temporary employee placement agency, was acquired by Argo Personaldienstleistungen AG from Stockholm based Poolia AB.
The De'Longhi Group has sold 100% of the shares of the controlled company Elba SpA to Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd. (FPA) for €78 million. FPA, listed on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges, designs, manufactures and markets a range of innovative household (white goods) appliances including cookware, dishwashers, dishdrawers, washing machines, dryers and refrigerators.
Bayard Group, the Sydney-based global investor in energy measurement and efficiency technologies, has acquired Enermet Group Ltd, a leading developer of advanced metering systems, for approximately euro 90m. Beerworth Partners (Australia) and Aventum Partners (Finland) served as financial advisors.
German-based Hünnebeck Group GmbH (“Hünnebeck”), a portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (“SUN”), has been sold to Harsco Corporation (“Harsco” NYSE:HSC), a global diversified industrial services and products company. Harsco acquired all of the stock of Hünnebeck for €140 million.
Hünnebeck attracted a high level of interest from both global financial and strategic buyers due to the company’s strong international market presence and excellent growth prospects. In August 2003, Hünnebeck was acquired by SUN from ThyssenKrupp AG and in a short period of time the company’s management team and owner positioned the company as a stand-alone entity with impressive financial results and strong prospects for growth.
Whitecroft Lighting, a UK-based company which designs, manufactures and markets lighting products for commercial, retail and public sector buildings, was acquired by Swedish listed company, AB Fagerhult (“Fagerhult”) from its Dutch private equity backers, H2 Equity Partners in a transaction valuing Whitecroft at up to €31 million.
Ingersoll Maschinen und Werkzeuge(“Ingersoll Germany”), an internationally recognised leader in manufacturing large, sophisticated machine tools and a €158 million turnover German subsidiary of Ingersoll International Inc. (“Ingersoll”), was the last major operating business to be sold out of the bankrupt estate of Ingersoll. Ingersoll Germany was sold to leading German machine tool manufacturer, Maschinenfabrik Herkules GmbH (“Herkules”) in a €65 million transaction.
Interpump Group (IPG) acquired 100% of the shares of Hammelmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH, the worldwide leading manufacturer of very high pressure plunger pumps in April 2005.
Polypipe, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of plastic pipes and pipe systems, has been acquired in a $433 million transaction backed by New York-based private equity house Castle Harlan, Inc. The Doncaster-based Polypipe group has been divested by the publicly-traded global engineering group IMI Plc as part of its strategic refocusing. BGL and LG served as the exclusive M&A financial advisors to Castle Harlan.
CSM, a Dutch listed global producer and distributor of bakery products and food ingredients, sold its Swedish subsidiary, BakeMark Sweden, to Accent Equity Partners. Accent acquired all the operations of BakeMark Sweden including the factory in Fagersta and the head office in Stockholm. The sale fits in with CSM Bakery Supplies Europe’s strategy to focus on a number of core countries.
Melos, a German-based supplier of specialist rubber compounds, was sold on behalf of its US owners, PolyOne Corporation by Global M&A’s UK partner Livingstone Guarantee, in cooperation with German partner InterFinanz.
The Cannon Group, sold its successful injection moulding press business to Taylor’s HPM, a leader in manufacturing and transportation services. The sale included all the activities of the Italian-based Sandretto Group (which was acquired by Cannon in 1997) and the German-based Windsor Group. Total sales of Sandretto Group were over €100 million.
Certain investors behind Bourne Leisure, the leading British leisure company, acquired AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc.’s (‘AMF’) UK operations in a transaction which
was executed in less than six months. Bourne Leisure is a leading British leisure company and one of the UK’s largest privately owned businesses.
The Riverside Company, the largest private equity firm specialising in mid-market acquisitions, acquired Danish firm, Welltec, a worldwide leading provider of intervention tools and services for the oil and gas industry.
Spain’s leading cosmetic surgery company Corporación Dermoestética SA acquired UK’s Ultralase Limited in a €42 million deal negotiated in just two months. A driver for Corporación Dermoestética completing the transaction so swiftly was their impending IPO. Corporación Dermoestética with clinics in Spain, Italy and Portugal, intends to use the company as a platform to further expand laser eye treatment and cosmetic surgery in the UK, a market which remains fragmented and where there is considerable room for growth.
QEK Global Solutions the world’s leading provider of outsourced vehicle and asset management solutions was acquired by a consortium led by Roger Penske, the legendary racing champion and successful US entrepreneur.
