Leeds advisers behind £120m Chinese deal

LEEDS-BASED advisers were invloved in the £120m sale of North East manufacturer SMD to a Chinese transport group.

CSR Times Electric announced the acquisition of the company, which makes subsea vehicle systems, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The deal is worth £103m initially, with a payment of £10m and management bonuses of £7m available if performance and profit targets are met.

Leeds-based advisers from law firm Eversheds, alongside Darren Jukes and Paul Mankin from PwC’s northern corporate finance team, advised SMD’s owners Inflexion Private Equity and the firm’s management team on the sale.

The Eversheds team was led by partner and head of corporate in Leeds, Robin Skelton, supported by corporate senior associate Jonathan Pollard and associate Becky Ashurst.

Mr Skelton said: “We have worked with Inflexion for many years and advised them on their investment in SMD as well as a series of industrial engineering and energy related deals, which also have yielded strong results for them. We look forward to advising them on future investments.”