Clearwater hails cross-border deal
A CROSS-border sale advised by Birmingham-based Clearwater Corporate Finance is an illustration of significant overseas M&A opportunities for UK firms says its partner Andy Moore.
Clearwater together with the Danish IMAP office of international mergers and acquisitions organisation IMAP advised on the sale of Danish cleaning supplies and equipment specialist Clean Care A/S to global outsourcing group, Bunzl plc.
Clean Care was acquired from its former parent company, which is controlled by Jan Knygle and Ole Bæk. Based in Aalborg, Denmark, Clean Care is principally engaged in the supply of cleaning products and equipment to industrial and institutional customers throughout Denmark. Revenue in 2009 was DKK60.4 million (£7m).
Andy Moore, partner at Clearwater, said: “Having been aware of Bunzl’s strong appetite for expansion in Scandinavia and its existing Danish operation, we saw Clean Care as a good fit for the business. This acquisition is a credit to the hard work of both management teams, as well as cross-border collaboration on the part of our IMAP colleagues in Denmark.”
This is the second cross-border deal that Clearwater has completed in recent months, following the sale of Dublin-based power plant installation, commissioning and maintenance specialist Shanahan Engineering to Scotland’s Wood Group plc in October.
The deal also comes in the wake of IMAP ranking sixth in the world for completed transactions with values up to $100 million for the whole of 2009, according to the Thomson Reuters Mid-Market League Table. This is the fourth consecutive year that IMAP has been placed in the top 10 for the global mergers and acquisitions ranking.
Andy Moore commented: “Cross-border M&A deals continue to present significant opportunities for both UK businesses and their advisers. Our international ambitions are being effectively supported by the worldwide offices of IMAP, which have proven to be a highly successful outlet for global deal activity in 2009.
“Throughout 2010, we will continue to work closely with our international IMAP offices to efficiently advise our clients in the UK and overseas on cross-border deals – utilising local market knowledge to overcome barriers to completion.”
IMAP is an exclusive global organisation of leading merger and acquisition advisory firms. Formed in 1973, IMAP is composed of 55 offices in nearly 40 countries throughout North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, Australia and Asia.
Clearwater Corporate Finance is a leading independent corporate finance house in the UK with more than 300 completed transactions.
