THE DEAL:
The acquisition by Spirit Motorcycles, the team that pioneered the British GP2 Championship, of Talon Engineering funded by a combination of bank debt and equity from Spirit. Spirit were the reigning GP2 champions at the time of the deal having secured four wins and seven other podium finishes from 12 races. Talon Engineering is 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.
OUR ROLE:
We worked alongside the team at Spirit to project manage the transaction process including negotiating an acquisition structure that met Spirit’s objectives. Using our knowledge of the debt market we worked to source a finance package that would support the deal, running a process to negotiate and secure a full asset-based lending facility that was in line with our initial assessment of debt capacity. Funding was provided by the commercial lending team at Arbuthnot Latham. We prepared a financial model of the combined group to support the funding structure and co-ordinated the delivery of conditions precedent for both the funding and the acquisition. Throughout the process we provided insight into market norms, expectations and completion mechanisms and, with multiple parties managing the day-to-day operations of their businesses alongside the transaction, we were instrumental in driving the transaction forward and ensuring that everything was delivered on time.
WHAT OUR CLIENT SAID:
“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 us through the deal process”
Rod McDonagh, Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Motorcycles
