Chequers, IGI PE sell Rollon Group to trade

Francesca Veronesi
31 July 2018

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Chequers Capital and IGI Private Equity have sold their stakes in Italy-based Rollon Group, a engineered linear motion products specialist, to US-based Timken, a producer of engineered bearings and power transmission specialist.

Under Chequers and IGI's ownership, Rollon bolted on Tecno Center. Rollon was attracted by Tecno Center's focus on more complex and advanced products, enabling it to supply a wider range of sectors.

Timken expands its industrial brands portfolio through the acquisition, which it will fund using debt.

Previous funding
The business was first backed by PE houses in 2010, when Ardian took a 51.8% stake, management bought a 5% share and Consilium retained the remaining shares. The enterprise value of Rollon totalled €48.9m at the time.

Three years later, Chequers and IGI bought Rollon from Ardian and Consilium in a deal that valued the business at more than €100m. Unquote reported at the time that Ardian generated returns of 3.3x and an IRR of 42.9%, according to market sources.

Company
Founded in 1975, Rollon specialises in the design and manufacture of linear guides, telescopic rails and linear actuators used in industries including aerospace, furnishings, packaging and logistics, healthcare and automation. Rollon is expecting to generate sales of around €120m in 2018.

Headquartered in Vimercate and with manufacturing operations in Italy, Germany and in the US, Rollon employs approximately 600 people.

People
Timken – Richard G Kyle (president, CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – PwC (financial due diligence); Roland Berger (financial due diligence); Lazard (corporate finance); Simmons & Simmons (legal); Iniziativa Gestione Investimenti (legal).