Investcorp has agreed to acquire Kee Safety from Dunedin and LDC for an enterprise value of £280 million ($370 million).
Kee Safety is a provider of safety products associated with working at height. The company’s products include modular barrier systems, guardrails, access platforms, and safety gates. Kee Safety sells its products in more than 60 countries to a range of customers from multi-national corporations to distributors and installers. The company employs 480 people and has operations in 10 countries, including the US and China. Kee Safety was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Birmingham, UK (www.keesafety.co.uk) with an additional office in Buffalo, NY (www.keesafety.com).
Dunedin and LDC acquired Kee Safety in December 2013. During the term of their ownership Kee Safety completed eleven add-on acquisitions and developed its Asian operations with the opening of a Singapore office.
Investcorp will continue to support Kee Safety’s international growth strategy both organically and through add-on acquisitions, expanding the company’s geographic footprint and strengthening its presence in existing markets.
“We believe that the company is well-positioned to solidify its leading position and gain a greater market share in a sizeable, growing and fragmented industry,” said Jose Pfeifer, a Principal in Investcorp’s European Corporate Investment Group. “We look forward to working in partnership with the current management team as Kee Safety continues to increase its penetration into existing and new markets.”
Investcorp invests in mid-size companies that have total enterprise values of between $200 million and $1 billion and are located in North America or Western Europe. The firm has interests in an array of industries and is effectively industry agnostic. Investcorp has approximately 390 employees and maintains offices in New York; London; Doha, Qatar; Manama, Bahrain; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and Singapore (www.investcorp.com).
“International expansion and an active acquisition strategy have formed key tenets of our growth story over recent years,” said Chris Milburn, Chairman of Kee Safety. “It was therefore extremely important for us to identify the right partner capable of continuing to support us in this period of strong development for the company. We believe that Investcorp’s proven track record, global presence and network will be extremely valuable in this regard. Their experience of working with the management teams of their portfolio companies to help them continue to internationalize makes them a highly complementary partner for Kee Safety and one that will help us realize the full growth potential of the business.”
Kee Safety marks Investcorp’s third investment in the UK in the last 18 months, having previously acquired Nebulas, a provider of cyber security services; and Impero, a provider of online student safety, classroom and school network management software.
Dunedin is a mid-market private equity firm that invests in companies with enterprise values from £20 million to £100 million. Sectors of interest include business services; financial services; industrial; energy; and technology, media and telecom. Dunedin has offices in London and Edinburgh (www.dunedin.com).
LDC (aka Lloyds Development Capital) is a mid-market private equity firm that invests up to £100 million of capital in companies that have at least £5 million of revenue and £1 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include industrials; retail & consumer; travel & leisure; healthcare; construction & property; financial services; and technology, media and telecom. LDC is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group and is headquartered in London, UK (www.ldc.co.uk).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | October 19, 2017
