Electra Partners has received a binding offer for Allflex Holdings, a manufacturer and distributor of plastic and electronic animal identification tags, from funds advised by BC Partners.
The offer is subject to consultation with the relevant works council in France and certain regulatory approvals.
If the offer is accepted, and reflecting current exchange rates, acceptance of the offer will generate gross proceeds of USD630.5m to clients of Electra Partners. This includes Electra Private Equity PLC which will receive USD398m (GBP256.7m) on closing, representing a gross return of 15x original cost (including income) over the 14 years of investment; an IRR of 28 per cent.
Electra Partners and Allflex were advised by Rothschild.
Electra Partners first invested in Allflex in 1998 investing USD46m in the USD160m buyout of the company. The business has since been refinanced a number of times such that total cumulative proceeds receivable by Electra Partners’ clients after completion of this transaction will amount to USD835m.
Over the 14 years of Electra Partners’ ownership, Allflex has seen strong organic and acquisitive growth driven by increased focus on food chain traceability and mandatory regulations controlling the spread of animal diseases. To capitalise on increasing demand, Allflex introduced new products, extended tagging to more species, and expanded into new geographical markets such as China and Africa.
David Symondson, deputy managing partner at Electra Partners, says: “Allflex is an excellent business which has proved to be a first-class investment for Electra Partners delivering strong returns at each of the refinancings over the years and now at the sale. Over this time, the company has become the leading global provider of animal identification tags with an expanded product range which includes RFID and tissue sampling tags.
“As with the sale of Capital Safety Group, which we sold last year for a 6.5x multiple, Allflex is another proven example of Electra Partners creating substantial value for clients by transforming international businesses into truly global leaders in their fields.”
David Symondson and Rhian Davies were responsible for the investment in Allflex.
