BBA Aviation plc
Deal Summary
Catalyst advised BBA Aviation plc (BBA) on the sale of Becorit GmbH, Europe’s largest and leading technology manufacturer of rail friction products to US-based Wabtec Corporation for €42.5 million.
Becorit designs and manufactures organic and sintered brake pads and blocks that are used on high speed passenger and freight trains. Becorit’s customers include Europe’s leading brake system manufacturers and rail operating and maintenance companies such as Knorr-Bremse, Deutsche Bahn, Siemens and Bombardier.
Becorit has an unrivalled simulation facility to test brake components and simulate different field environments under which brake pads and blocks are likely to be used. This includes a snow machine to recreate conditions experienced in Scandinavia.
BBA is a global leader in aviation services, owning Becorit since 1997. BBA has annual sales of £900 million, employs 10,300 people in 11 countries and is headquartered in London, England.
What difference did we make?
BBA appointed Catalyst for its strong international network which enabled us to manage the transaction from London with CH Reynolds, our German partner firm, working alongside the management team at the business in Recklinghausen in Germany.
Having researched the rail products and maintenance services sectors, Catalyst agreed to market Becorit to four strategic trade buyers and a select group of German private equity firms. Despite being a relatively small business in the rail original equipment and aftermarket, Becorit holds an important strategic position in the supply chain and interest in the business was extremely strong.
Two bidders – one US and one German – quickly emerged as the front runners and Catalyst ran a competitive auction between these two parties which resulted in BBA receiving an exceptional price which was above its expectations.
The greatest challenge on this transaction was coordinating the reporting timetable of a public company seller in the UK and a public company buyer in the US whilst being sensitive to a German management team who had a business to run and wanted clarity of the outcome so they could speak to their key customers and continue to plan for the future.
