Rutland to reap up to 2.8x on CeDo sale

Ellie Pullen
17 October 2014

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Rutland Partners has sold CeDo Group, a UK manufacturer of household disposables, to Belgian investment holding Straco Investments.

Rutland has sold the entire group excluding one surplus property, which the firm plans on divesting. Following this final disposal, total proceeds from the entire CeDo sale are expected to generate a money multiple of 2.8x and a gross IRR of 25%.

Under Rutland's ownership, the company transferred its headquarters to the UK (having previously been based in Germany) and developed its senior management team. The business also invested in a new low-cost manufacturing plant in Vietnam.

CeDo's new owner Straco will retain the company's existing management team.

Previous investment
Rutland acquired CeDo in July 2009 via its £322m Rutland Fund II, which closed in July 2007. According to unquote" data, the deal was valued at £52.2m with Rutland providing an equity ticket of £26m. A senior debt package was provided by Lloyds TSB, while Indigo Capital provided a mezzanine facility.

The firm acquired the group from holding company Delton, after management approached Rutland through PwC.

Company
With roots dating back to 1965, Telford-headquartered CeDo has offices in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Vietnam.

The company manufactures both own-label and branded household disposables such as tin foil, cling film, bin liners and freezer bags. Brands include PolyLina, Paclan and Nappy Sacks.

CeDo generates around £240m in revenues and employs 2,000 staff. At the time of Rutland's investment, the company recorded turnover of around €210m.

People
David Pearce is the CEO of CeDo. Rutland managing partner Nick Morrill and partners Ben Slatter and David Wingfield worked on the deal.

Advisers
Vendor - Lincoln International (Corporate finance); Taylor Wessing (Legal).
Management - Walker Morris (Legal); BDO (Tax).
Acquirer - PwC (Corporate finance, financial due diligence); Allen & Overy (Legal); AT Kearney (Commercial due diligence).