Deals in Focus

London based minicab operator Addison Lee (AL) are up for a sell by private equity holders The Carlyle Group. AL have outstanding debts of around £230m with lenders ING. Former CEO Liam Griffin is seeking £125m for a rescue bid with many other parties showing interest. AL is aiming for a rescue deal before the year end.

Investcorp have launched an auction of the sale of Hydrasun – provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions to energy, OEM, marine and renewables firms. Approximately 15- 20 parties are interested in the first round of bidding, which is due to conclude at the end of December. Sources value the firm at around €115m.

Current owners Barclay brothers are considering putting the newspaper group up for sale with sources claiming an asking price of over £200m. Belgian firm Mediahuis is interested along with several other private equity parties.

Stirling Square is looking to take the UK-based aerospace components manufacturer Mettis Aerospace (MA) to market. MA’s revenue grew by 10% in 2018 to £82.4m and the underlying EBITDA went up 6% to £13.5m compared with the previous year.

Graphite Capital are looking to take the UK-based industrial machinery installation and relocation firm Beck & Pollitzer (B&P) to market. B&P will be marketed off at around GBP 15m EBITDA. Operational profit grew 31% over the 2017-18 period. Lincoln International are advising the sale of B&P.