Background

Murgitroyd is a leading European provider of IP services, delivering patent and trademark legal advice together with a breadth of IP support to meet the needs of its international client base. Murgitroyd operates from a network of offices globally and employs a team of over 300 staff. The major shareholder of this AIM-listed company wanted to sell the business but had proved unable to do so. Our team met the shareholder and identified the opportunity to use the business as a platform for a substantial buy and build strategy.

Action

Our Team introduced the opportunity to Sovereign Capital, and led the deal process on their behalf, advising Sovereign through their bid, supporting on the negotiation of the price, negotiating the irrevocables for takeover bid, structuring the deal and project-managing the transaction, completing the financial modelling, and working alongside the legal and listed market advisers to complete AIM takeover.

In addition, our Debt Advisory team was appointed by Sovereign to assist with a debt raise to help fund the acquisition and provide working capital facilities. The team presented the opportunity to a carefully selected shortlist of potential lenders and received multiple offers. Sovereign opted for BlackRock, who provided acquisition debt in support of the deal together with follow-on acquisition facilities.

Outcome

The teams exclusively managed the successful acquisition of Murgitroyd in a £65 million deal, which takes the company into Private Equity ownership. As well as backing Murgitroyd to develop its global presence through buy and build, Sovereign will also support the business to further develop its tech-enabled platform and support service offerings.