Private equity investor acquires logistics giant
Leeds-headquartered private equity firm, Endless LLP, has acquired logistics giant ASCO.
Headquartered in Aberdeen, ASCO is a global provider of supply base operations to the energy industry, handling over 1.3 million tonnes of cargo each year with an overall warehouse footprint of more than 150,000 square metres.
ASCO has over 1,000 employees in the UK with a further 500 across its international operations.
It operates from 60 locations in nine countries across six continents serving offshore energy operators, developers and major service companies in the renewables, new energy, oil & gas, and decommissioning markets.
The acquisition by Endless is designed to further strengthen ASCO’s position in the growing renewables and new energy markets, enabling it to capitalise on the increasing opportunities presented by the global energy transition.
Andrew Ross, Endless partner, said: “ASCO is a fantastic business servicing a blue-chip customer base across its global operations with great potential for further growth.
“It is an exciting time in the energy sector both in the UK and internationally and ASCO is well placed to support its customers to accelerate the energy transition.
“We are looking forward to supporting Mike and the entire ASCO team to deliver the global opportunities available to the business across both current and new service lines.”
Endless will continue to support the current management team, including the planned transition of a new CEO as Mike Pettigrew assumes the role from Peter France on 2nd October.
Pettigrew added: “Over the last few years, ASCO has succeeded in supporting its longstanding existing customer base whilst also expanding into the renewables market, actively contributing to numerous wind projects in the North Sea.
“Our commitment to supporting all new energy development has led us to build strategic alliances in cutting-edge energy ventures such as carbon capture utilisation and storage and hydrogen projects.
“Leveraging over 50 years of extensive offshore logistics experience with our focused approach to sustainability, we’re well positioned to capitalise on the significant opportunities arising from the energy transition.”
The deal has been funded from Endless Fund V which invests in UK mid-market companies to support them on their transformation journey.
The Endless deal team was led by Andy Ross, Stefan Nowakowski and Jon Duffy, with financial due diligence support from Kerry Battiscombe, Sian Williams and Kayleigh van Eyk.
Endless was advised by Walker Morris (Legal); KPMG (Tax); Lodestone (Political); Jacksonbreen (IT); and PwC (Debt).
Advisors for the vendors were Piper Sandler (Corporate Finance); Ashurst (Legal); and Deloitte (Financial and Tax Due Diligence). Management were advised by Burness Paull (Legal).
