Hellman & Friedman buys Wood Mackenzie in £1.1bn SBO

Hellman & Friedman secured a 63% stake in Wood Mackenzie, while Charterhouse reinvested to retain a 13% share. The remaining 24% will be held by Wood Mackenzie's management and staff.

The deal is expected to be completed by 31 August 2012.

Previous funding
Charterhouse bought Wood Mackenzie from Candover for £553m in 2009 in what was the UK's third largest SBO that year. HSBC, Nomura and the Lloyds Banking Group provided senior debt for the transaction. AXA Private Equity, GSC and Sankaty financed the deal with mezzanine debt.

The sale allowed Candover to reap a 56% IRR. The GP first invested in Wood Mackenzie in 2005. While the value of the deal remained undisclosed, it was reported that Candover committed around £50m in exchange for a significant minority stake in the business. It secured a majority stake in 2007.

Company
Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie was founded in 1973. It provides consultancy services to the energy and mining & metals industries. The company employs approximately 600 staff and operates 20 offices worldwide.

People
Patrick Healy led the deal for Hellman & Friedman. Malcolm Offord is in charge of the investment at Charterhouse.

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• Topics
• UK / Ireland
• Buyouts
• Exits
• Support services
• United Kingdom
• Secondary buyout
• Hellman & Friedman LLC
• Charterhouse Capital Partners
• Partial sale