Mergers and Acquisitions in August 2021

Business Intelligence, Bureau Van Dijk, recorded another busy trading month in M&A activity with 180 transactions in August. Overseas acquirers were also active with 64 deals recorded this month.

The largest transaction for the month was the £5.7 billion acquisition of Cazoo Holdings Ltd by Capri Listco. Cazoo’s mission is to transform the car buy and selling experience across the UK and Europe by offering better selection, transparency, convenience and peace of mind. Their aim is to make buying and selling a car no different to ordering any other product online, where consumers can simply and seamlessly buy, sell, and finance or subscribe to a car entirely online for delivery or collection in as little as 72 hours. The company was founded by Alex Chesterman OBE and is backed by some of the leading global technology investors.

Another significant deal recorded was the £4.2 billion acquisition of Dialog Semiconductor by Renesas Electronics Corporation. President and CEO of Renesas commented, “Today represents an important milestone for Renesas. This transaction builds on our long-term strategy to offer a complete set of solutions with more leading-edge analog and mixed signal products that deliver value and innovation to the customers. The combination augments engineering scale and delivers a diversified product portfolio across multiple, attractive end markets. Together, we are positioned to capitalise on an array of growing opportunities including the IoT, industrial, and automotive fields.”

Other higher value deals for this month include the acquisition of SB Energy Holdings plc by Adani Green Energy Ltd for £2.5 billion; Aggreko plc by Albion Acquisitions Ltd for £2.3 billion; St Mowden Properties plc by Brighton Bidco Ltd for £1.2 billion; Bluejay Solutions Ltd by E2open Parent Holdings Inc. for £1.2 billion; RiverStone Europe LLP by CVC Strategic Opportunities II for £723 million; Atlantis Investorco Ltd by Eneti Inc. for £369 million; Dreams Topco Ltd by Tempur Sealy (UK) Ltd for £340 million; and Cancom Ltd by Telefonica Tech SL for £339 million.

Smoothwall Ltd, a digital safety provider, was acquired by Australian-based tech company, Family Zone Cyber Safety Limited for £75.5 million. Family Zone is an ASX listed technology company and a global leader in the cyber safety industry. They have created a patented cyber safety system, which is a platform that enables schools, parents and cyber safety educators to collaborate. Tim Levy, Managing Director of Family Zone commented, “Our organisations are both on a mission to keep children safe and our platforms and culture create a unique and remarkable opportunity to synergies and growth. The acquisition establishes one of the world’s largest and fastest growing cyber safety providers, servicing more than 18,000 schools and nine million students across Australia, New Zealand, the US and UK.”

Some of the overseas deals that took place during this reporting period include the acquisition of Travis Perkins plc’s plumbing & heating division by HIG Capital LLC; Lady of Leisure Investco Ltd by Wolverine World Wide Inc.; Hermes Fund Managers Ltd by Federated Hermes Inc; and Transition Networks Inc. by Lantronix Inc.

The manufacturing sector proved to be impressively active this month with several transactions taking place. Some of these acquisitions include Texecom Ltd by Management; Ramtech Electronics Ltd by Halma plc; Oriental Food Express Ltd by Fujian Anjoy Foods Co., Ltd; Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd by Ministry of Defence; and Lodent Precision Ltd by Beroskin Ltd.

In summary, August’s M&A activity has taken place in a number of different sectors, with significant deals contributing to this month’s overall figure. With active public trade buyers as well as private equity investors, the UK continues to appeal to acquirers from both the UK and overseas. 

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