Cattaneo Corporate Finance has advised Spirit Motorcycles, the team that pioneered the British GP2 Championship, on its acquisition of Talon Engineering. Spirit are the current GP2 champions, having secured four wins and seven other podium finishes from 12 races.
Talon is an engineering firm known globally for its quality range of hubs, expertly laced wheels and off and on-road sprockets. Talon products are highly sought after, serving a customer base worldwide, including the USA and Australia, from its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Yeovil, Somerset.
The acquisition will see Spirit’s successful team of highly experienced designers and network of former MotoGP engineers bring their know-how and winning ways to a well-loved and respected brand. The team includes chassis expert Steve Bones, who has decades of experience designing and fabricating motorcycles and components for the MotoGP paddock. Steve will play a key role in the growth and development of Talon. Former managing director of Talon, Rob Sartin, will remain with the business to assist in the transition.
The business will be run by Spirit Motorcycles founder and key pioneer of the GP2 Championship, Rod McDonagh. Rod is a keen motorcycle enthusiast and has a twenty-five-year background working with businesses like Talon.
The acquisition was funded with the support of Arbuthnot Latham through its dedicated commercial asset-based lending team, Arbuthnot Commercial ABL.
The Cattaneo Corporate Finance team of Scott Peters and Martyn Pilley sourced and negotiated the funding package, working closely with the teams at Spirit, Talon and Arbuthnot to structure and deliver the transaction in time for the start of the critical racing season.
Rod McDonagh, owner of Spirit, said:
“We are delighted to have combined the Spirit and Talon brands. We aim to continue Talon’s existing strategy of delivering world class products whilst growing our customer base worldwide. We will merge the expert knowledge of Spirit with Talon’s experienced engineers to introduce new, race quality products to the market which we believe will drive growth for both businesses”.
“The Cattaneo team have been working with me to look at acquisitions, their depth of knowledge and connections within the funding market and their tenacity in driving the acquisition process were a critical component of completing this deal successfully. We took great comfort from the way the Cattaneo team operated and supported me through the deal process”.
Scott Peters of Cattaneo commented:
“Spirit’s acquisition of Talon sees a highly regarded family business join the hugely talented team at Spirit Motorcycles. This is exciting news for bike enthusiasts everywhere, the team at Spirit has a strong passion for bikes and Talon is destined to reach new heights under their leadership. We wish Rod and his team every success in taking Talon forwards and in defending their title in the upcoming 2021 British GP2 Championships”.
Keith Rose, Arbuthnot Commercial ABL’s Director of Business Development in the Midlands and South West, commented:
“Arbuthnot has a real appetite to support businesses like Spirit and Talon with talented management teams and lots of potential. We’re delighted to have been able to structure a full ABL package to support them and look forward to a long and rewarding relationship”.
LR – Scott Peters (Cattaneo), Rod McDonagh and Steve Bones (Spirit Motorcycles)