U-POL investment

U-POL investment

21 Dec 2005

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Capital buy-out

ABN AMRO Capital, the private equity business of ABN AMRO, has agreed to acquire automotive refinish products manufacturer U-POL Products Limited (U-POL) from Graphite Capital Management Ltd (Graphite). The transaction, which is expected to complete early in 2006, values the business at £75 million. Established in the mid-1950s, U-POL has a diversified product portfolio of fillers, coatings, aerosols and adhesives. As a result of the buy-out, ABN AMRO Capital will acquire a 71% stake in U-POL. The company’s management team will reinvest a substantial part of the value of their sale proceeds and will hold the remainder of the equity. Barclays Bank will provide senior and mezzanine debt. Paul Moxon and Simon Tuttle co-ordinated the investment on behalf of ABN AMRO Capital and will join the board of U-POL as non-executive directors. In 2002, U-POL’s Managing Director Charles Julien led a management buy-out with backing from Graphite. U-POL has since grown its turnover by 31% to a forecast GBP 30.3 mln in 2005. Paul Southwell, Head of ABN AMRO Capital’s UK buyout team, said: “This business is a good fit with our investment criteria. It has an experienced management team, a strong market position and an attractive growth profile. We are looking forward to forming a partnership with management to accelerate the growth of the business”. Since the beginning of 2005, ABN AMRO Capital has completed 14 European buy-outs with an aggregate deal value of EUR 2.8 bln and has realized 10 exits. Previous investments in the automotive sector have included FPS Distribution and MoTip.  

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