Final month of 2017 reflects a busy year for dealmakers
By Gareth Iley, partner at Clearwater International
Hello 2018.
As we settle into the New Year and the excitement of Christmas has passed, it’s back to business for the world of M&A.
As we look back on December’s deal activity, it’s clear that many dealmakers used the Christmas deadline to close a high number of transactions. TheBusinessDesk reported 37 deals for the month, up from 27 in November.
Clearwater International UK had a strong finish to 2017 completing nine transactions, with a total deal value in excess of £450m.
The travel space proved to be a popular area for investors and trade buyers alike last year, Burton-upon-Trent based Riviera Travel was recently acquired by private equity firm Silverfleet, for an undisclosed sum. The deal marked an exit for Phoenix Equity Partners, who acquired the cruise and tour specialist in December 2014.
Gareth Iley, partner at Clearwater International
The acquisition was the last in 2017 for the leisure sector which has seen huge interest over the last few years, driven by a number of factors including consumers’ appetite to spend more on experiences rather than products. Travel deals in the UK during 2017 included Mobeus Equity’s investment in Ski Solutions, Travelopia’s acquisition by KKR, On the Beach’s purchase of Sunshine.co.uk and Travel Leaders Group’s acquisition of Colletts Travel.
Private equity interest was strong in December, as was trade interest, with a number of big ticket deals completing before the year end. The biggest trade deal by far in December was the £148m cross-border acquisition of US-based Bimba Manufacturing Company (Bimba), by Birmingham-based engineering business, IMI. The deal marks IMI’s first acquisition in two years, following that of German-based Bopp & Reuther in 2015.
The London-listed company, with a market cap of near £4bn, plans to integrate Bimba into its IMI Precision Engineering business. Bimba will provide IMI with a wider range of electric motion, hydraulic and pneumatic equipment. It will also greatly enhance the group’s presence in the US, an important factor because of the rapid expansion of the US industrial automation market.
The industrials sector proved to be popular in December. In another trade deal, Birmingham-based Headlam Group (Headlam) completed its second acquisition of 2017, with the purchase of ceramic tile specialist Domus Group (Domus), in a deal advised by Clearwater International UK. The £35.4m deal provided an exit for Alcuin Capital Partners, which backed Domus in 2012, buying the company from Graphite Capital.
The acquisition of Domus allows Headlam, Europe’s largest floor coverings distributor, to diversify and expand into a market segment that offers higher levels of profitability and additional growth opportunities. The market in which Domus operates is demonstrating strong growth thanks to the increasing demand for high-end building products. This is due to the increasingly high specification requirements of many properties being built and refurbished in the commercial, hospitality and residential sectors.
It’s clear that 2017 was a strong year for Midlands deal making, and so it will be interesting to see what 2018 has in store.
It has been a strong year for Clearwater International too, having completed deals with an average value of over £80m during 2017, illustrating the ambitious trajectory the business continues to follow.
To view our latest Deals Table click here
