Peter Black Holdings, a merchandising and distribution specialist for personal care and footwear, accessories and gift retailers in the UK and Europe, has been bought by its senior management.
The buy-out was led by chairman Gordon Black and group chief executive Stephen Lister, who bought the group for an undisclosed sum.
The funders
The management team was backed by buy-out and turnaround fund Endless LLP, with partner Darren Forshaw managing its investment.
Forshaw said this is the firm's largest transaction since it was formed in December. "We were attracted to the opportunity by the group's creditable profit record across all of its divisions despite the pressures that suppliers to retailers have experienced in the recent past. Peter Black has an excellent management team led by Gordon and Stephen and we look forward to working closely with them to develop the group over the coming years."
Senior debt, mezzanine funding and working capital were provided by Stuart Gray and Phil Hawker at HSBC and Andrew Foster and Jonathan Thompson at Lloyds TSB.
"We were delighted to have joined forces with our colleagues at HSBC in supporting this talented team in their secondary buy-out," Gray said. "Peter Black has a first rate reputation and plays a pivotal role in the value chains of its major clients, with whom it enjoys excellent relationships. Our combination of senior and mezzanine funding provides additional flexibilty whilst allowing us to participate in the undoubted upside which this transaction brings with it."
The players
Black said: "The new ownership structure will provide an ideal platform for implementing the future growth plans developed for the group with Endless."
The advisers
The vendors received legal advice firm Peter Cranston of Eversheds and financial advice from Riverhill Partners, led by director Alex Musson.
Musson said the firm was approached by the group to value its three businesses and was appointed financial adviser when the decision was made to sell. "Early in the M&A process Endless made a bold offer for the group which was at the higher end of our valuation range.
"In addition our rapid collation of competitive bids confirmed the attractiveness of the offer," he added. "Endless stuck to their word on price and Peter Black's stakeholders adopted, from the outset, a unified and constructive approach which served to maximise value."
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