deals


10 deals of HMT – the MBO and disposal of Donatantonio


To celebrate its 25th anniversary of leading corporate finance deals, HMT is reminiscing on 10 notable transactions from its archives. Having completed over 500 deals, producing a shortlist of 10 has not been easy but the MBO of Donatantonio and subsequent sale of the business have certainly made the list


Founded in 1902 in London by Luigi Donatantonio, who was missing the culinary delights of his native Italy, Donatantonio is since then one of the leading food importers in the UK.


Run by the Donatantonio family, in particular the brothers Lou and Vince, Sheila took an active role as the business expanded in line with the British Food industry and the Company floated on the Main Stock Market in 1997.


Seven years after the flotation, Donatantonio was growing rapidly but the pressure of the stock market was hammering smaller companies. Therefore, Sheila Donatantonio decided to start a management buyout


process to take the company from public to private. HMT had been recommended to her by a member of her team and she appointed HMT to act for them on the MBO. HMT helped her with the entire public to private MBO process and in January 2004 the transaction completed. Sheila Donatantonio became the managing director and a new team of directors was appointed.


Following the MBO, Donatantonio made a strategic acquisition of a food distributor and HMT provided buy-side advisory services on that transaction.


Sheila Donatantonio decided in 2007 that it was time to dispose of the business. After two successful transactions, she naturally appointed HMT to lead the disposal process. HMT produced a robust information memorandum and identified potential buyers and funders. Just before Christmas 2007, Sheila Donatantonio and the management team sold Donatantonio to a BIMBO team led by Steve Asplen and funded by Beringea.


She retired from the corporate world after the disposal and is now involved in property projects. She is very pleased with the outcome of those transactions for both the Donatantonio family and the business.


Sheila Donatantonio


“HMT is dedicated, hard working and visionary”


Beringea still owns a major shareholding in Donatantonio and the business is continuously growing.


hmtllp.com


Investment by LDC into IP Solutions


Completion Date: 10/17 Target: IP Solutions Acquirer: LDC


Deal Value: Undisclosed


Details: Spectrum Corporate Finance has advised mid- market private equity firm LDC, on its investment into IP Solutions, a specialist communications technology provider, to enable the company to accelerate its growth strategy


Funding: LDC – Alexander Clark and Troy Harris-Speid


Corporate Finance Advisers: Buy-side advice to LDC – Simon Davies (managing director) and Iain McKenzie (director), Spectrum Corporate Finance


Legal Advisers: Shoosmiths Financial Due Diligence: RSM Commercial Due Diligence: Analysis Mason


Gateley advises on CACI acquisition of Spargonet


The Reading office of Gateley plc has advised CACI, a major provider of information systems and marketing solutions to organisations in both the private and public sectors, on its acquisition of UK IT services specialist, Spargonet Consulting.


Next Deadline Monday, December 11 for the Jan/Feb issue


To submit deal data or to advertise on this page contact: steve@elcot.co.uk


Elcot Publications is not responsible for the accuracy of information in the Deals Update section which is supplied by individual firms


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – DECEMBER 2017


Spargonet has a well-established industry reputation in providing managed services and IT consulting services to brands including Waitrose, John Lewis, BMW and Mastercard. The deal sees CACI add Spargonet’s extensive capabilities in application management, mobile computing and business intelligence to its offering, establishing a full scope of marketing solutions and IT services.


A cross-discipline Gateley team was led by Reading-based corporate partner Andrew Peddie, supported by corporate solicitor Lisa Faragher, real estate legal director Vijay Patel and


tax senior associate Simon Slade, alongside employment partner Benedict Gorner and employment solicitor Kate Fellows.


Greg Bradford, chief executive of CACI, commented: “The acquisition of Spargonet strengthens our capabilities by adding greater Microsoft, business intelligence and mobile computing skills which ensures we can provide a full range of IT services to the largest and most complex organisations in the UK, including the Spargonet customer base of highly-valued brands.”


Andrew Peddie added: “This acquisition is a great fit for CACI and one in line with their company values. We’re pleased to have been able to support CACI throughout this transaction and have no doubt that the integration with Spargonet will be a success.”


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