Yorkshire manufacturer acquired by US firm

YORKSHIRE manufacturer Public Safety Equipment International (PSE) has been acquired by ECCO Group.

Leeds-based PSE designs, manufactures and supplies vehicle lighting and warning systems for police and other emergency vehicles (red and blue lights) and off-highway and commercial vehicles (amber lights), and is a leading global player in the automotive lighting sector.

PSE also manufactures and supplies speed measurement equipment and in-car video surveillance systems for emergency services.

The business has manufacturing facilities in the UK, US, China and Australia and it markets its products under the brand names ‘Code 3’, ’Premier Hazard’, ‘Britax’, ‘PSE Amber’ and ‘Kustom Signals’.

 PSE has been acquired – for an undisclosed sum – by ECCO Group, a US manufacturer of amber lighting headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

 ECCO Group is a portfolio company of Berwind Corporation, a US family office with a history dating back to 1886 and the US coal mining industry. Berwind is a long-term investor in 9 portfolio businesses, including ECCO Group which operates globally and employs more than 4,000 people.

 Prior to the acquisition by ECCO Group, PSE was owned by the management team and a syndicate of 22 banks following a debt restructuring in 2010.
 
Catalyst acted as the lead adviser to ECCO Group with Andy Currie and Paul Vanstone presiding.
 
Currie, Catalyst’s managing partner, said: “This is a major international deal and the third completed transaction from Catalyst’s industrial team in 2014.
 
“As the manufacturing sector continues to recover we expect to see more deals in this sector throughout 2014.

“This deal is a prime example of the success of automotive businesses and UK manufacturing as a whole, in particular those businesses which are at the forefront of technology and new product development and it is businesses like this that are attracting most interest from overseas buyers.”