THE ACQUISITION PROGRAM
Our Client – The Buyer
O’Brien Boiler Services Pty Ltd is an established operator offering contract services in the areas of industrial and commercial boiler supply, maintenance and installation work. Based in Sunshine West Victoria, the Business is positioned as a complete boiler-room solutions provider and has entrenched itself as a market leader, servicing customers on a national scale for over 20 years.
Seeking the assistance of experienced mid-market business brokers, the directors of O’Brien Boiler Services engaged Johnsons Corporate to undertake an acquisition campaign on their behalf. As part of an overall growth strategy, the directors sought to capitalise on the strong historical growth of their Victorian operations in order to expand the Business nationally. A successful campaign would enable them to further expand their already growing operations and more effectively service an ever growing client base.
The Acquisition Strategy
Having previously completed an acquisition within the sector, O’Brien’s was able to provide a very specific brief regarding its target attributes. Some of the key criteria included: boiler companies, service-based as opposed to manufacturers, Australia-wide, with key technical staff, established service factory, turnover range $1M to $5M. O’Brien’s were ideally seeking a bolt-on business to provide them with a broader geographical presence whilst also enabling them to leverage their existing services, branding, systems & processes and management infrastructure.
Johnsons Corporate’s proprietary research swept Australia’s niche Boiler Servicing Market, identifying suitable targets to match our client’s acquisition criteria. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that identified 12 prospective vendors and within 6 weeks resulted in a shortlist of 5 fully qualified, off-market acquisition opportunities. Further vetting and negotiations with these parties resulted in the execution of an Agreed Terms Sheet between the buyer and its preferred target.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to growing your business through acquisitions could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
The Acquired Target
Waratah Automation was a leading multi-disciplinary industrial engineering company, specialising in Industrial Automation & Boiler Systems. Initially a joint venture was constructed between the parties, which resulted in the Waratah Automation business being acquired by the JV and subsequently folded into O’Brien Boiler Services .
What Our Client Had to Say
"We appointed Johnsons Corporate in order to assist with the implementation of the entire acquisition strategy, incorporating target identification, initial approaches, data review, deal structuring, negotiations and overall project management. We believe the input from Johnsons was invaluable in terms of taking the acquisition strategy from concept stage to successful completion."
Shane & Brendan O'Brien - O'Brien Boiler Services