The acquisition of Devro implied an enterprise value of £667m, equivalent to a multiple of 10.9 times enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax and amortisation for the 52 weeks ended 30 June 2022.
In its announcement of the acquisition, Saria said: “Saria believes that Devro represents an attractive opportunity to acquire a highly regarded global business of scale which will accelerate the growth of the Bidco group and deliver a number of benefits to the enlarged SARIA business, its employees, customers and suppliers.”
Completed in 2023
Saria expected acquisition to be effected by way of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act before the end of the third quarter of 2023.
Commenting on the acquisition, Devro chairman Steve Good said the combined business would have an enhanced product offering, have a stronger more diversified group of scale and will look to further accelerate long-term sustainable growth.
"We believe that Saria's understanding of our markets, its strong financial position and the cultural fit will benefit the group's business and employees,” he added. “As a result, the Devro directors have agreed unanimously to recommend that Devro's shareholders accept the offer from Saria.”
Continued investment
Parent company Bidco said it would invest in Devro’s seven manufacturing sites to increase capacity. It also planned to undertake a detailed review of Devro’s research and development function, with the potential for additional investment.
Bidco chief executive Harald van Boxtel added: “Devro has built a reputation for manufacturing high quality products and providing a service to a customer base that is complementary to the SARIA group's.
“The combined businesses would be ideally placed to capture growth in both mature and emerging markets by maximising the combined sales and distribution platform, an improved research and development function and a wider range of products.”
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Cheshire Cheese Company was acquired by family-owned cheese producer Joseph Heler for an undisclosed sum.
