Triton announces merger of AVS, Chevron, Fero and Ramudden

Harriet Matthews
18 December 2020

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Triton has announced that it is to merge its four traffic and infrastructure service safety providers portfolio companies AVS, Chevron, Fero and Ramudden.

The GP said in a statement that the merger of the four businesses is intended to facilitate strategic alignment, while also allowing operational autonomy.

Triton acquired AVS in November 2017 in an SBO from Borromin Capital (then known as Steadfast Capital), which valued the company at €203m. The GP bought Ramudden via the same vehicle in the same month in an SBO from IK Investment Partners, followed by Chevron in April 2018. All three companies were acquired via the Triton Fund IV, which held a final close in May 2013 on €3.3bn. The vehicle was fully deployed as of September 2019, according to Unquote Data.

AVS has made a series of add-on acquisitions during Triton's investment period. The first of these was Fero Group, which the company bought in June 2019. Goldman Sachs, UniCredit, SEB, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and ING provided senior debt of €375m to back the acquisition, comprising a €300m term loan and a €75m revolving credit facility.

According to Unquote sister publication Debtwire, AVS took out a €290m refinancing loan earlier in December 2020, with the aim of using proceeds primarily to refinance Chevron and Ramudden's existing debt, as well as to pay a shareholder dividend. The financing was provided by AVS's incumbent lenders, as well as NatWest, and comprises a €265m term loan, plus a €25m revolving credit facility.

Company
AVS, Chevron, Fero and Ramudden were founded in 1961, 1997, 2001 and 2005 and are headquartered in Germany, the UK, Belgium and Sweden respectively. All four companies provide traffic and infrastructure safety services. These include temporary traffic equipment installations, road marking and maintenance, as well as digital traffic management services. The companies' client base includes telecommunications and construction companies, as well as public sector organisations.

The combined group will have revenues of more than €450m. AVS employs 800 people, Chevron has 1,300 staff, Fero has 300 employees, while Ramudden employs 600 people, and the combination of the business will therefore mean that the new entity employs around 3,000 staff.

People
Triton – Peder Prahl (director); Nadia Meier-Kirner (investment advisory professional, co-head of business services).