Norman Hay acquisition is Deal of the Month

MIDLANDS-based chemicals and surface coatings business Norman Hay’s  acquisition of a US chemicals manufacturer is our Deal of the Month for December.

The deal, for an undisclosed amount, was advised out of Birmingham.

The Coventry firm bought SIFCO-Applied Surface Concepts, a subsidiary of US giant SIFCO Industries. The company, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the world’s largest manufacturer and suppliers of process equipment and associated chemicals for selective electroplating and anodising. It has other operations across the US and Europe, including the UK, Sweden and France.

Advising Norman Hay on the deal was the Birmingham-based chemicals team of Clearwater Corporate Finance. The team comprised partners Philip Nuttall and Constantine Biller and director Nick Horrocks.

Nuttall, partner and joint head of the chemicals sector team, said: “This strategic acquisition allows Norman Hay to expand its services into new international markets and sectors. The company will be strengthened by SIFCO-ASC’s contracts in Europe and North America, and there is great potential for future growth.”

SIFCO-ASC supplies many of the world’s leading aerospace, oil and gas and power generation businesses by helping to improve component performance and reduce manufacturing costs.

Norman Hay is a global chemicals, sealant, surface coatings and engineering specialist that has been trading for more than 60 years. The deal expands its worldwide surface technology business.

Vic Bellanti, chief executive of Norman Hay, said: “This is an excellent acquisition for us and fits into our strategic plan to expand the Norman Hay Group internationally into areas that have a clear synergy with our existing businesses.”

Explaining why the transaction was chosen as Deal of the Month, the editor of TheBusinessDesk.com, Andy Coyne, said:  “We have seen so many deals where large conglomerates from the US or Europe have snapped up Midlands businesses and in most cases this is a wholly positive move for the future of those companies.

“But it surely can’t be denied that it’s nice for a change to see the boot on the other foot. For a long-established Midlands business to vastly enhance its global expansion capabilities through an acquisition of this sort across the Atlantic shows there is plenty of life in the Midlands corporate dog yet.

“And once again the specialist expertise of the Midlands advisory community – in this case the chemicals team at Clearwater – has made the deal a reality.

“It would be a consummation devoutly to be wished that we will see more such deals in 2013.”