Hellman and Charterhouse exit Wood Mackenzie in £1.85bn deal

The transaction will be funded with around $2bn (£1.33bn) in debt and $800m (£530m) in equity. It is part of the US business's plans to expand internationally.

The valuation falls short of the £2bn price tag the business was aiming to obtain in an IPO, according to a report by the Financial Times earlier this month.

The deal is expected to conclude in Q2 2015.

Previous funding
Hellman & Friedman acquired a 63% stake in Wood Mackenzie from Charterhouse in a deal valuing the business at £1.1bn in July 2012. As part of the deal, Charterhouse reinvested to maintain a 13% stake in the business.

In August 2013, Hellman & Friedman reportedly turned to the debt markets to secure a £135m term loan C to refinance and pay itself a dividend.

Wood Mackenzie was originally bought by Charterhouse from Candover for £553m in 2009. The deal allowed Candover to reap a 56% IRR, having first invested in Wood Mackenzie in 2005.

Company
Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie was founded in 1973. It provides consultancy services to the energy and mining & metals industries. The business generated a turnover of £227m and EBITDA of £107m in 2014, representing an EBITDA margin of 47.1%.

Wood Mackenzie employs around 1,000 staff and operates in 27 offices worldwide.

People
Patrick Healy is managing director and deputy CEO of Hellman & Friedman. Stephen Halliday is CEO of Wood Mackenzie. Scott Stephenson is president and CEO of Verisk Analytics.

Advisers
Vendor – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Legal).
Acquirer – Morgan Stanley (Corporate finance); Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Corporate finance); Davis Polk & Wardwell (Legal).
Company – Deutsche Bank (Corporate finance); Lazard (Corporate finance); Dickson Minto (Legal).

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