
CD&R wins B&M Retail race
Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has acquired a significant stake in the buyout of UK discount retailer B&M Retail, a deal rumoured to be valued around the £950m mark.
CD&R bought the stake from the Arora family. The Rothschild-run auction process for the business, which has been going since September, reportedly attracted interest from rival buyout houses Blackstone, BC Partners, KKR and Cinven.
Company
Founded in 1976, B&M operates a range of discount stores in the north of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. It was bought out by the Arora family in 2005 – since then the chain has grown to 300 stores, with a turnover in excess of £1bn and a headcount exceeding 10,000 people.
People
Former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy, a senior operating adviser at CD&R, will serve as chairman of B&M.
Advisers
Equity – Bank of America Merrill Lynch (M&A); Clifford Chance (Legal); Debevoise & Plimpton (Legal); Ernst & Young (Financial due diligence).
Company – Rothschild (M&A); Allen & Overy (Legal); PricewaterhouseCoopers (Financial due diligence); OC&C (Commercial due diligence).
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