Bell Gully is advising on Bapcor Limited’s acquisition of Hellaby Holdings Limited for $322m.
On Tuesday, the ASX-listed Bapcor gave notice of its intention to make a takeover offer for 100% of full-paid shares in
NZX-listed Hellaby for $3.30 per share.
The firm announced that it already secured irrevocable agreements to accept the offer for about 30% of all Hellaby’s issued shares, including with Hellaby’s largest shareholder who represents 27.2%.
Apart from Bell Gully, law firm
Allens is also an advisor to Bapcor. Morgan Stanley and First NZ Capital also advise the car parts behemoth, the
Australian Financial Review reported.
“Of everything that's out there, this is just a perfect fit for us. It's the best strategic expansion opportunity there is,” Bapcor top exec Darryl Abotomey told the publication.
Bapcor, which changed its name from Burson Group earlier this year, supplies more than 500,000 car parts to mechanics around Australia.
The Hellaby acquisition is Abotomey’s second large buy after Bapcor bought the Autobarn, Autopro and Midas Mufflers businesses last year for AU$283m.
Bapcor’s stock price has almost tripled since its April 2014 debut on the ASX with an issue price of $1.85 per share.
Bapcor expects the deal to be fully funded by a AU$185m placement combined with current cash holdings and debt facilities and a new acquisition facility with ANZ.
The acquisition, expected to close by December 2016, is a strategic expansion of the firm’s operations, it said.
If successful, it would establish a presence in the New Zealand market and strengthen the company’s position in the Australian automotive aftermarket industry, Bapcor said.
The firm added that the deal is expected to boost shareholder earnings per share.
As of 20 June 2016, Hellaby had 3,000 staff and reported revenue and EBITDA after corporate costs of $795.5m and $46.8m, respectively.
It has an automotive, resource services and footwear division. It owns a portfolio of automotive industry businesses including BNT, Autolign, Truck and Trailer Parts, Diesel Distributors, HCB Technologies, Federal Batteries JAS Oceania Australia and Premier Auto Trade.
As of the end of June, Hellaby has net debt of $83.3m. At the start of July, it paid $40.5m in cash to part fund the settlement of the TBS Group acquisition and declared a 12.5 cent dividend per share amounting to $12.2m to be paid today.
