Dyson deal gives Saffil new future
THE sale of Dyson Group’s automotive fibre mats manufacturing arm has been hailed as allowing the company to enter “an incredibly exciting new era”.
TheBusinessDesk.com reported yesterday that Saffil Group, which operates from Widnes and a site in South Africa, has been sold by Sheffield-based Dyson Group for an undisclosed sum to Unifrax – a US-owned producer of high temperature insulation products.
Julian Cooper, chairman of high-tech materials technology company Dyson Group, said the deal with Unifrax, based in Niagra Falls, New York, was a positive one for Saffil’s employees.
Mr Cooper said: “The markets served by Saffil are strategically important to Unifrax and Saffil’s product family nicely complements the current Unifrax offering.
“Unifrax is prepared to make the investments necessary to secure the long-term future of the business. These would have been difficult for Dyson to make.
“We are confident the sale of the business to Unifrax provides Dyson shareholders fair value while securing a bright future for Saffil employees.”
Mark Briscoe, chief executive of Saffil, added: “Saffil is entering an incredibly exciting new era. Over the past two years Saffil has continued its very rapid growth and gained market share, particularly in the European heavy truck market and the fast growing developing economies of Asia and South America.
“By combining with Unifrax, we are creating a major new global force in the catalytic converter mat market that will deliver innovative best-in-class products for our customers. Together with Unifrax we will continue to invest in capacity expansion so as to support our future growth”
Saffil made a pre-tax profit of £637,000 on sales of £45m in its last financial year and its products are used in a wide variety of applications in both the industrial insulation and automotive emission control support mat markets.
It has regional offices in the USA, Japan and China and sales representation in Brazil and employs around 300 employees worldwide who will be joining the Unifrax team.
Unifrax is a leading global supplier of insulation products that are used in many high-temperature industrial, automotive and fire protection applications. The company has 17 manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America and employs approximately 1,300 people worldwide.
Lincoln International, DLA Piper and Ernst & Young advised Dyson Group, while Lloyds Banking Group and Aktiebolaget Handel och Industrie were advised by Walker Morris. The group’s pension schemes were advised by Irwin Mitchell and Mercer.
Catherine Simister, lead advisory partner at DLA Piper, said: “We are very pleased that we have been able to work with Dyson, a long standing client of the Sheffield and Leeds offices, to achieve the sale of Saffil.”
Robert Satow, managing director and co-head of the global automotive and truck group at Lincoln International, said: “Combining Saffil with Unifrax will create a new global force in the automotive catalytic converter mat market and will ensure Saffil has the financial resources to realise its substantial growth ambitions.”
Following completion of the deal, Dyson’s outstanding secured bank debt will be repaid and there is the possibility of returning capital to its shareholders. Dyson owns two other profitable operating businesses and a brownfield property portfolio in the UK.
Dyson underwent a debt restructuring deal with its banks Lloyds and Svenska Handelsbanken, and pension scheme trustees, securing the future of the business, last September. The group delisted from the Stock Market earlier in 2010.
