Background
• Whitworths is the UK’s leading supplier of branded and private label dried fruit and nut based products used for healthy snacking, home cooking and baking
• The company was acquired by Gresham in a £15million buyout in 2001 and was subsequently restructured to improve operational and financial performance. Turnover approximately doubled between 2004 and 2006
• European Capital acquired Whitworths in October 2006
through a competitive auction process for a total consideration of £86million. A new buy-in CEO has been introduced and a number of existing senior managers have rolled equity into the new structure
Process
• European Capital employed its One Stop Buyout™ model, providing all of the funding required for the acquisition
• Close Brothers Corporate Finance was appointed to advise the Company on refinancing the bridging loans used to fund the senior and mezzanine portions of the acquisition financing
• We ran a competitive process to secure commitments from banks for debt on terms that reflected Whitworths’ preferred facility structure and will support delivery of its business under European Capital’s ownership
Gains
• Close Brothers Corporate Finance co-ordinated all aspects of the debt raising process, thereby allowing European Capital and management to focus on the strategic issues
• Terms were received from a number of arranging banks for both a full underwrite and a club deal
• Whitworths pursued a club approach for the transaction, capitalising on strong bank appetite and securing a supportive banking syndicate comprising Lloyds, HSBC and Glitnir
To find out more about this transaction, please contact Jonathan Trower, Daniel Morland or Simon Tilley on +44 (0)20 7655 3100.