Chubb Fire & Security draws Bain-Advent consortium in £2bn sale

Amy-Jo Crowley, Maryna Irkliyenko, Georgina Barnard and Ryan Gould
25 May 2021

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Buyout groups Bain Capital and Advent International have formed a consortium to explore a bid for Chubb Fire & Security, kicking off a sponsor-dominated battle for the British maker of fire extinguishers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Owner Carrier Global Corporation distributed information memoranda to a wide field of mostly financial suitors via sellside advisor Bank of America in recent days, according to the sources.

Sponsors CVC and Cinven have also expressed interest in the Ashford-headquartered business, two of the sources said, with one adding that books have been sent to around 50 parties ahead of non-binding offers in June.

The move by New York-based Carrier to sell Chubb comes more than two years after its former parent United Technologies launched a process to sell the fire and safety solutions provider.

Apax Partners, PAI Partners, Eurazeo and Rhone Capital were among the parties reaching the second round back in January 2019, according to earlier Mergermarket intelligence. The process was halted after bidders submitted lower than expected offers on the back of concerns about trading performance.

Carrier could fetch in excess of $2.7bn (£2bn) for Chubb, which generates EBITDA of approximately $220m (£155m), two of the sources said.

A slowdown in growth at Chubb in recent years could deter trade buyers from joining the race, with value-focused financial suitors likely to pitch a turnaround to return the business to growth, according to two of the sources.

Representatives for Carrier, Chubb, Bain, and CVC did not respond to requests for comment. Advent, Cinven and Apax declined to comment.