M&A activity in 2015 produced record-breaking results as five of the 20 biggest deals in history were announced. On the heels of this performance, top analysts are looking forward to what 2016 has in store.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the successful sale of Endeavour International Limited to I.M.M Hydraulics (UK) Limited.

Benchmark International has advised on the successful sale of Stevenson Grantech Limited to Trend Technologies.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce a £2.5 million deal between Manchester-based 1st Class Holidays, a leading provider of tailor-made luxury holidays, and PHD Private Equity.

Benchmark International has advised on the successful sale of The Springboard Consultancy Limited to not-for-profit organisation, The Instructus Group.

2015 M&A activity has officially come to an end and the final results are in: it’s been a record-breaking year across the border, particularly for the Pharmaceutical industry.

Acquisition activity in the global food sector was hot during 2015 and is expected to remain strong in 2016.  Two such examples of acquisitions in the sector last year include the announcement of the megamerger between AB InBev and SABMiller at £71bn - a deal expected to be formally completed early this year - with AB InBev reportedly selling a number of bonds to finance the takeover. The second quarter of 2015 saw the acquisition of British chocolatier, Thorntons, by Italian family-owned company Ferrero, which saw the latter acquire a 70% stake for £70 million in a deal that valued the entire group at £132 million.

International M&A expert, Benchmark International, has successfully assisted with the sale of G.B. Access Limited (G.B. Access) to Ashtead Plant Hire Company Limited (A-Plant).

The M&A specialist, Benchmark International has successfully negotiated the sale of Uniform Sales of America, Inc. to a high net worth individual.

Uniform Sales of America is located in Lithia Springs, GA, a suburb of Atlanta, GA. The company is a business-to-business provider of personalized uniforms and accessories to companies and government agencies. Benchmark International secured a multiple of 7.56X EBITDA for the seller; a ratio higher than what is typical in the industry.

The seller interviewed four or five other intermediaries prior to engaging Benchmark, but choose Benchmark International over the others because of its global reach, proven track record, professionalism, marketing vision, and approach to valuation. Benchmark did not put a cap on the valuation and the seller knew that the sky was the limit.

Confidentially was important to the client because the seller wanted to divulge a potential deal to others only when the time was right. Thus, Benchmark represented the client confidentially, but left no stone unturned when it came to marketing strategies.

When the opportunity went to market, there was immediate interest. Benchmark’s team narrowed the interest down to three or four offers. Benchmark presented the details of each offer to the seller and the team handled all negotiations on behalf of the seller. Benchmark’s expertise was comforting for the seller. The team maximized value for the seller, brought the deal together quickly and minimized interruption to the daily operations of the business.

After spending 30 years building the business, the seller will be enjoying retirement and spending time with his new grandson. Benchmark wishes the seller a happy and satisfying retirement and offers the best of luck to the new owner.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the sale of Berriewood Wholesaler LLP to VioVet Limited.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the successful sale of Keypak Limited to Rowley Regis-based Select Hardware Limited.

2015 was a thriving year for global M&A activity, with the first six months seeing record deals worth more than $1.8 trillion. However, recent reports have suggested that 2016 has the potential to put that figure in the shade.

Benchmark International has successfully advised on the acquisition of Hertfordshire-based CRS Electronics to Chemigraphic, one of the UK's largest product support and system integration businesses, in a deal for an undisclosed sum.

Benchmark International has successfully negotiated the sale of A H Mertons, a long established group of family-run opticians to Holmfirth-based Valli Group.

International M&A specialist, Benchmark International, has successfully negotiated the sale of Coating & Moisturizing Systems, Inc. (“CMS”) to Grace Harbor Group, Inc. and Osceola Capital Management, LLC.

International M&A specialist, Benchmark International, has successfully negotiated the sale of Sea Level Marine to the Rheinhold & Mahla Group (R&M).

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the successful sale of Rembrand Builders Merchants Limited to Rembrand Timber Limited.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the successful sale of Devon-based Logo Design Limited. The deal was closed in November 2015 and saw the company acquired by a Private Investor.

In the high-stakes world of M&A, discretion is the one of the most important elements, as all parties involved are under an ethical and contractual obligation to keep details private until the time is right to announce the deal. During this period, acquisitions are often given cryptic codenames to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the successful sale of Lancashire-based ROC North West, a provider of residential care and education, to CareTech Holdings in a deal worth in excess of £11m.

Established in Lancaster in 2005 by founding directors Hilary Waterhouse and Glyn Waterhouse, ROC provides education and residential care for challenging and vulnerable young people with complex needs. It currently offers 41 residential places in seven residential homes across Lancashire and 25 education places in its school in Preston.

Hilary Waterhouse, Co-founder of ROC, said: "ROC is a family run business offering high standards of care and education in the learning disabilities sector. We are pleased that we have now joined the larger family of CareTech. We had a number of different companies wishing to buy our business but chose CareTech as we believe in their philosophy of care and working practices that mirror our own expectations and high standards."

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the successful sale of Lancashire-based ROC North West Limited, a provider of residential care and education, to CareTech Holdings in a deal worth in excess of £11m.

In a previous post, we discussed the year of the megadeals and explored the motivation behind these acquisitions. Although 2015 has seen historical M&A movement, several big players are still indicating their intentions to undertake the next wave of M&A activity.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the sale of Swan Seals (Aberdeen) Limited (“Swan Seals”) to Diploma PLC.  Established in 2003, Aberdeen-based Swan Seals manufactures and supplies seals and sealing products to a wide range of customers who service the North Sea Oil and Gas industry.

2015 has seen some of the biggest deals in the history of mergers and acquisitions: Coca-Cola, Shell, Visa and many more have all contributed to what is being referred to as “The Year of the Megadeal!”

Alongside our success on behalf of clients, Benchmark International is immensely proud to announce that Roger Forshaw, Associate Director, has won the ‘Rising Star’ award at the annual JCI Manchester Young Talent Awards.

It is with great pride that Benchmark International announces winning Technology Deal of the Year (Over $250M to $500M) at the 14th Annual M&A Advisor Awards. The winners were announced at the annual gala held at The New York Athletic Club in New York on November 17, 2015.

Several significant deals have been completed across a range of industries this year prompting analysts to predict that there will be more big deals to come before the year is out.

Benchmark International is delighted to announce the successful sale of Newcastle based XL Graduate Placement to South Yorkshire headquartered Nicholas Associates Group, in a deal for an undisclosed sum.

Benchmark International represented a specialty marketing firm that closed in October 2015. Benchmark International began their relationship with the seller about two years prior to the sale. 

Last week, during Jeremy Vine’s show on BBC 2, the hot topic on the business queries agenda heard Vine and business expert Nick Brown discussing the trials and tribulations that UK family business owners face when they are no longer a part of the company. The key question: do you have an exit strategy in place?

https://vimeo.com/121610256

The latest report from Deloitte shows that mergers and acquisitions are playing a key role in sustaining a company’s position on the Fortune 500 list. The study hypothesises that Fortune 500 dealmaking activity has come about as companies on the list increasingly compare the risk and return of a perspective M&A deal against the odds of delivering value via other strategies (e.g. investing in-house in innovation to develop a new product or deploying resources to build “greenfield” capabilities in a new market) and, activity levels suggest that in many cases, pursuing M&A has shown to be a better bet.

Last week, a roundtable was held in Manchester at Sci-tech Daresbury, home to over 100 tech companies, to discuss how the North can innovate to achieve growth.

Benchmark International has set out an ambitious, two-year strategy to expand new business into China.

International M&A specialist, Benchmark International, has successfully negotiated the sale of Omega Technology Solutions to publically-traded Certive Solutions Inc.

International M&A specialist, Benchmark International, has successfully negotiated the sale of Advantone Inc. to IntelePeer Holdings Inc.