CD&R-backed Exova in £550m IPO

The IPO raised £220m from 100 million shares priced at £2.2 each, with the company receiving proceeds of £110m.

With a total 250 million shares in issue, CD&R and Exova have agreed to a six-month lock-up period following the flotation. Credit Suisse will oversee an overallotment option for 15 million addition shares.

Conditional dealings began under the ticker "EXO", with admission to the main market expected to take place on 16 April.

When Exova announced its intention to float, the company stated it would redeem its publicly traded bonds.

CD&R acquired Exova – then Bodycote Testing Group – in August 2008, according to unquote" data. The initial deal valued the company at approximately £417m, with capital drawn from CD&R Fund VII.

The company has undertaken an acquisitive strategy under the GP's tenure. In 2013, it acquired US vehicle testing company Defiance and Czech-based calibration services provider GSMobile. In January 2014 it added UK-based stack emissions testing specialist Catalyst.

CD&R has made significant changes to Exova's management team in five and a half years at the helm. In 2011 it hired Ian El-Mokadem as CEO and also announced the appointment of Allister Langlands as a non-executive director in preparation for the IPO.

Exova has also appointed Vanda Murray as an independent non-executive director as part of the IPO process. Murray is also currently a non-executive director at Manchester Airports Holdings, Microgen, Chemring Group and Carillion.

Company
A provider of laboratory-based testing and advisory services, Exova is headquartered in Edinburgh and operates 117 laboratories across 22 countries. It employs a sales team of more than 100, with almost 90% of the group's revenues generated from operations in Europe and the Americas.

It had a turnover of £279m in 2013, up 10% on £253.6m in 2012. Its 2013 adjusted EBITDA figure was £48.1m, up 15.1% year-on-year.

People
Company – Rothschild & Sons (Corporate finance); Credit Suisse (Joint global co-ordinator, joint sponsor, joint bookrunner); Goldman Sachs (Joint global co-ordinator, joint sponsor, joint bookrunner); Barclays (Joint bookrunner).

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