Duke Street acquires Compo

Prior to the buyout, Compo had been under the ownership of China-based fertiliser company Kingenta, which acquired the business in 2016.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the deal values Compo at around €290m.

HPS provided debt to back the buyout, a source close to the situation told Unquote.

Duke Street said in a statement that the company and its brand have a strong ESG position and that recent trends have seen an increased interest in gardening from consumers.

The firm intends to assist the company with both organic and acquisitive growth. The same source said that add-ons will be sought that allow the company to expand into new geographies or complementary products.

Duke Street invests capital on a deal-by-deal basis, raising capital from a base of institutional investors. The firm targets companies with enterprise values of £50-400m. Prior to Compo, its latest investment in Europe was the acquisition of Kent Pharmaceuticals and Athlone Laboratories in June 2019.

The GP's previous investments in Germany include river cruise business A-Rosa in 2018 and medical diagnostics device producer Medi-Globe in 2016.

Company
Compo was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Münster. The company produces and distributes gardening soil, fertiliser, plant protection and lawn seeds for use in home gardens. The company posted 2019 revenues of €196.4m, compared with €179.2m in 2018, according to its latest publicly available accounts. The company posted 2020 revenues of around €320m, the same source close to the situation told Unquote.

People
Duke Street – Paul Adams (partner).
Compo – Stephan Engster (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Harris William (M&A); Houlihan Lokey (debt advisory), Alvarez & Marsal (financial due diligence); Roland Berger (commercial due diligence); White & Case (legal); Environ (environmental due diligence); Goodwin Proctor (legal).

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