Bregal acquires Advent-backed Laird Thermal Systems

Advent acquired Laird in a GBP 1.2bn take-private in July 2018, deploying equity via Advent International GPE VIII, which held a final close in March 2016 on USD 13bn.

Advent sold the company's Performance Materials division in March 2021 for USD 2.3bn. Laird's Connected Vehicle Solutions was previously up for sale in 2018, Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported, and was subsequently sold to US trade buyer Molex in October that year.

Mergermarket first reported at the start of July 2021 that LTS was up for sale, with Rothschild leading the process. The company generates EBITDA of EUR 20m, sources told Mergermarket, although structuring EBITDA could be closer to EUR 13m due to the company's research and development needs, one source told Mergermarket. The company posts revenues of EUR 63m, the report added.

Mergermarket reported later in July 2021 that the sale process was to move forward into an interim round, with Bregal, Capvis, Inflexion and Stirling Square selected to proceed.

Advent said in a statement that the company was developed into a standalone business under the GP's ownership via investments in technology and innovation. The company's EBITDA grew at a 28% compound annual growth rate during the investment period, according to a statement.

Bregal is currently deploying equity via its EUR 1.875bn third flagship fund, which held a final close in March 2021. The fund generally makes equity investments of EUR 50m-250m, backing DACH-based companies with EBITDA of at least EUR 10m.

Company
Laird Thermal Systems is a division of UK-headquartered Laird, which was founded in 1903. The company specialises in thermal management systems, producing and assembling products including thermoelectric components, temperature controllers and liquid cooling systems. The principal applications for its products are in the medical and life sciences industries, including point of care temperature testing, medical and cosmetic lasers, radiation therapy and medical storage chambers.

The company has facilities in Rosenheim in Germany, as well as sites in the US, Sweden, the Czech Republic and China.

People
Bregal Unternehmerkapital – Jan-Daniel Neumann (co-founder, partner); Florian Schick (co-founder, managing partner).
Advent International – Francesco Casiraghi (managing director).

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