Seven up
BRITAX CHILDCARE
What is it? A child car seat manufacturer.
Based? Warwick
What was the deal? Britax International was taken private in 2001 by Royal Bank Private Equity, latterly renamed RBS Private Equity. Childcare is one of three divisions in the business - the others being aircraft interiors and public safety products - and strong interest convinced RBS that it was worth looking for a buyer for the childcare part in early 2005 and the bank appointed KPMG to handle a sale. The eventual buyer was the US Carlyle Group who bought the business in October last year via its European Buyout Fund. Proceeds were used to reduce debt at Britax and further develop parts of the business.
How much? £3230m
Advisers? KPMG, Catalyst Corporate Finance, Barclays Leveraged Finance
What did the market say? The sale of one third of the Britax empire just missed our deadline to be included among the deals of the year at Dealmakers 2005 - indeed the cheque had only just been written before last year's gala dinner. The deal was a vindication for RBS given that many sceptics felt the bank had overpaid for the business when it took it private back in 2001. However while the aircraft division of Britax inevitably had a tough time in the wake of 9/11, its childcare business has continued to flourish with the brand remaining a number one choice for many parents and a market share of some 40 per cent in the UK alone. As such Carlyle, best known for its lucrative holding in Qinetiq, the former government defence research agency privatised last year, had to pay a handsome price to win the day.
ELECTRIUM
What is it? A wirings accessories supplier
Based? Cannock
What was the deal? A decade ago Chris Thomas led the £3135m buyout of Hanson's electrical division, comprising such well-known brands as Wylex, Crabtree and Volex. Within 10 years the company had shut 13 UK factories, lost 3,400 staff and opened a string of manufacturing plants in the Far East to survive against the ugly twins of price deflation and over capacity. Equity house LDC trusted in the restructuring and backed a £338m secondary buyout in 2003.
On New Year's Day 2006 the business was sold to German electrical giant Siemens.
How much? Undisclosed
Advisers? LDC, KPMG, Freshfields
What did the market say? A triumph for Chris Thomas and Martin Draper, head of LDC in the Midlands. Many equity houses hadn't feared to tred where LDC walked in 2003 but Draper trusted the man, trusted the brands and trusted the business. With public sector work turning into a key plank of the company's growth plan, sales and profits were soon knocked back into decent shape and a viable exit suddenly became possible. A knockout deal (and call out of the blue) from Siemens was more than anyone expected. When Insider interviewed Thomas 12 months ago an AIM flotation was mooted as more likely.
PARAGON PRINT & PACKAGING
What is it? Self-adhesive food labels manufacturer
Based? Spalding
What was the deal? Printing and packaging is incredibly now the UK's fifth largest manufacturing industry, and it's players like Paragon Print that are spotting the opportunities and reaping the dividends. Led by MD Tony Lennon the business was founded in 1994 and now has a turnover of £380m with 750 staff at seven sites across Lincolnshire, including a new purpose built facility in Gainsborough. The business brings together four of the leading names in the industry including Paragon Labels, Paragon Wisbech, Paragon Flexibles and Norfolk Labels. January this year saw a secondary buyout of the business with Barclays Private Equity, who backed the original buyout in 2001, reinvesting in the business alongside LDC. The funds will be used for further growth and expansion, to increase product development and to fund acquisitions.
How much? Undisclosed
Advisers? Pinsent Masons, LDC, HBJ Gateley Wareing, Deloitte, Barclays Leveraged Finance, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Barclays Private Equity
What did the market say? Another month, another LDC deal, but one that also meant it working with the other undisputed leading equity house in the region, Barclays Private Equity. With these two backing the business it can hardly fail to go wrong. The fact that it is operating in one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy can only add to its attraction to someone else another day soon.
RAMESYS HOLDINGS EDUCATION
What is it? IT training services manufacturer
Based? Nottingham
What was the deal? Kleinwort Capital had been trying to sell its software development services group Ramesys as a whole, but that deal failed to materialise and instead equity house LDC won a three-way VC pitch to buyout its education business instead. The deal was put together in just six weeks and completed in December 2005. Ramesys is benefiting hugely from the government's Building Schools for Future programme and the installation of state-of-the-art IT facilities in schools up and down the land. In particular Ramesys is a major player in the primary school arena. As Mark Freer from LDC sums up: "It is very different putting laptops in front of thousands of schoolchildren at the same time rather than putting them in front of thousands of workers. This is very specialised stuff."
How much? Undisclosed
Advisers? Lloyds TSB Acquisition Finance, LDC, Catalyst Corporate Finance, KPMG, Browne Jacobson, Eversheds, Pinsent Masons, Freeth Cartwright, KPMG
What did the market say? Another cracking deal for LDC and with the government's IT drive in, well, overdrive, the future should be extremely bright for the business. The Building for Schools programme still has a long way to go and Ramesys are ideally placed to capitalise for a good while yet.
ST TROPEZ
What is it? Tanning products
Based? Nottingham
What was the deal? Any financier will tell you that deals are taking longer to complete these days and this one took longer than most - indeed it was a good couple of years in the making.
Providing an exit for Nottingham's self-tanning entrepreneurs Judy Naake and Norman Oley was never going to be easy given the size, scale and success of the business. The deal was further complicated by the fact that the transaction effectively involved two separate businesses, Beauty Source Limited in the UK and St Tropez Inc in the US. Equity house LDC found a way through the fog and the funding will now enable the business to expand worldwide with further investment in new product development, sales and merchandising. Spearheading the drive is UK managing director Steve Oakes.
How much? £370m
Advisers? LDC, Catalyst Corporate Finance, Eversheds, Geldards, KPMG, Allied Irish Bank, Browne Jacobson, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary
What did the market say? A "classic Nottingham story" and a "little gem" were freely banded about at the time of deal. However "protracted and difficult" were also words you heard from advisers trying to piece together what many described as a classic old-style PE deal. The inevitable emotion that Naake felt at selling a major share of her business is typical of so many entrepreneurs who have built up a global business from humble beginnings. For VC houses the chance to invest in a business with such a market leading position that had not already been acquired by one of the leading cosmetic houses was a major lure. So one simple question remains - how long before the cosmetic houses come knocking on the door?
STEAD AND SIMPSON
What is it? Shoe retailer
Based? Leicester
What was the deal? The secondary buyout of Steads is one of two deals backed by Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance (BosIF) that make our shortlist, but things could have been very different. Last year Clearwater Corporate Finance began a strategic review of the business and it was initially reported that a float or sale to private equity was most likely. The float was ditched last summer leaving the way clear, it was presumed, for big VC players such as Apax, Permira or CVC to win the day. However coming up on the rails were the Bank of Scotland who found the right deal in December 2005 backing a management team headed by chief executive David Lockyer and finance director Peter Foot. As part of the deal Development Securities sold its stake in the business for £313m.
How much? £350m
Advisers? Bank of Scotland, Clearwater Corporate Finance, HBJ Gateley Wareing, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Catalyst Corporate Finance.
What did the market say? Two things. Firstly, great to see such interest in one of the East Midlands' most established businesses that had been through its fair share of trauma.
Secondly, a deal that really marked the entrance of BosIF as a leading private equity package in the Midlands. If the bank can see off a string of leading VC houses then it can see off anyone.
TM LEWIN
What is it? Clothing retailer
Based? London
What was the deal? No sooner had the ink dried on the Stead & Simpson deal (see above) than those Bank of Scotland chaps in the Midlands were at it again with an integrated finance package for clothing retailer TM Lewin. Again the bank saw off interest from more established private equity players including 3i, ISIS and LDC, to conclude the management buyout in May this year.
How much? £350m
Advisers? Bank of Scotland, BDO Stoy Hayward, Ernst & Young, HBJ Gateley Wareing, PricewaterhouseCoopers
What did the market say? The strength of the TM Lewin brand, twinned with its wealth of design, sourcing, marketing and retail experience, looks a sure-fire winner for all parties.
Nice to see a London deal being shared with the Midlands too.
Keep wearing those shirts boys.
