Detailed Information
HSBC Private Equity led and structured the £50 million (€80
million) management buyout of ANC, the express parcels delivery
firm, from Securum Industrial Holdings. HSBC Private Equity
underwrote £19.8 million (€32 million) of institutional equity and
subordinated loan stock.
The sale of ANC was part of an orderly disposal of assets by
Securum, a corporate rescue vehicle. It was not possible to float
ANC as the management team had only been in situ for just over 12
months. With advice from Barclays de Zoete Wedd, Securum opted to
sell to a financial rather than a trade bidder. HSBC Private Equity
won the auction against stiff competition from a number of rival
venture capital firms. As the sale progressed, Securum invited the
management team to participate in the deal and the transaction
gradually assumed the characteristics of a typical MBO.
Established in 1981, ANC operates a nationwide express parcels
delivery service. In 1994 ANC handled 13.5 million parcels for a
range of blue chip clients making it the fifth largest operator in
the UK parcels market. Total network sales exceeded £80 million
(€128 million). The business expanded profitably year on year
between 1991 and 1994, despite the severity of the recession,
achieving sales growth ahead of most of its main competitors.
In structuring the buyout, management was anxious to ensure that
finance would be in place to fund a major redevelopment of the
central hub. The structure of the deal provided a clear sign of the
commitment of HSBC Private Equity to ANC’s long term development
and success.
ANC represented an attractive investment for us, with a good record
of generating profits and cash and a strong management team.
Moreover, the completion of the hub extension offered the prospect
of enhancing ANC’s ability to provide a high quality of service to
its clients and increase parcel volumes and profits.