Cheyne leads Addison Lee recapitalisation, Carlyle exits

Current majority shareholder Carlyle Group will exit its stake, as previously reported by Unquote, with Cheyne becoming the company's largest shareholder.

Liam Griffin, previously the CEO of the group and currently a non-executive director and shareholder, will return as CEO, replacing Andy Boland, who has led the business for the last four and a half years.

Addison Lee's US business has also been acquired by RMA Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation.

The company's debt will be more than halved and new capital will be made available to the business. The deal was expected to see lenders inject £45m in equity and a €100m debt refinancing, according to reports.

The company previously owed £250m.

In February 2019, Carlyle mandated Bank of America Merrill Lynch to run a sale process. The sale was expected to value Addison Lee at around £800m.

Carlyle acquired the company in 2013 in a deal worth almost £300m, according to reports. The acquisition saw a debt package of £200m used, based on EBITDA of approximately £65m. Lenders included HSBC, ING, Barclays and BNP Paribas.

Carlyle injected £10m in equity to part-fund acquisitions in December 2018. At the time, the company secured extensions of its acquisition facilities to April 2020.

Throughout the holding period, Carlyle invested a total of £120m in equity for ongoing development.

Addison Lee was in the portfolio of Carlyle Europe Partners III, which closed on €5.35bn and had a net IRR of 14% as of September 2019. The fund acquired 21 companies and has had 16 realisations, not including Addison Lee.

Addison Lee generated an operating loss of £4.7m from revenues of £390m and an adjusted EBITDA of £53m for the year ending on 31 August 2018.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Industrials
• United Kingdom
• Carlyle Group