Our Client – The Vendor
Specialising in automotive aftermarket accessories for over 20 years, this business imported and wholesaled products that were distributed through national retail chains. The business employed 15 staff with revenues of $8 million.
The Sales Strategy
The Buyer
The purchaser, Seat Cover World, is a leading Australian seat cover manufacturer and importer supplying the major automotive & retail outlets throughout Australia and the South Pacific Region.
Schamburg + Alvisse (“S+A”) is an award-winning, niche Australian designer & manufacturer of commercial eco-furniture, servicing corporate and public sector clients. For 15 years the Business has designed and produced commercial furniture that is environmentally sustainable, including various styles of conference tables, office chairs, executive lounges, designer side tables and an assortment of custom items. S+A’s designs have won multiple awards as well as attracting interest from international architectural press. Its clients comprised universities, embassies & consulates, museums, hospitals, schools, libraries, defense force facilities, airports, hotels, bars & restaurants. All product lines are manufactured using recycled materials and certified eco-wood, providing clients with modern yet environmentally friendly office furniture.
S+A was founded and owned by an Architect and an Interior Designer, who now sought to exit in order to pursue other commercial & personal interests. The Directors engaged Johnsons Corporate as a specialist mid-market business broker to undertake a divestment campaign on their behalf.
At the time of sale S+A generated solid revenues with healthy profit margins and was run by a Managing Director, supported by a team of staff responsible for concept and design. S+A represented a rare opportunity for an existing business to access the growing market for environmentally sustainable commercial furniture, with various growth opportunities including online sales to corporate clients and targeted consumers.
Johnsons Corporate’s custom research & marketing focused on Australian Commercial Furniture Designers & Manufacturers as a primary target segment. Secondary target segments included Made-to-Order Furniture; Outdoor Furniture; Interior Designers &/or Decorators; Furniture Retailers; and Shop & Office Design & Fit-Out companies as well as a shortlist of prospective private equity & financial buyers. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that uncovered 20 qualified, interested parties. Further vetting and negotiations resulted in the selection of a preferred buyer as well as a backup buyer, with Offer and Acceptance secured within 13 weeks of going to market.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to selling your business could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
The purchaser, Zenith Interiors, was a leader in the workstation and loose furniture market. The Business was private equity backed and running a consolidation strategy within the commercial furniture industry across Australia, New Zealand and into Asia.
Universal Technical Training Services (“UTTS”) is a technical training equipment distribution business, providing market leading solutions to an impressive list of Blue Chip customers within the Education, Military and Government sectors. The Business supplies a diverse range of equipment and systems comprising hardware, courseware and software, which it sources from leading global manufacturers. Its products are used by vocational training providers in the delivery of education and training to diverse trade disciplines and span Avionics, Automotive, Biomedical, Electronics & Telecommunications, Green Technology, Laser Technology, Mechanical Systems and Robotics.
By late 2012 UTTS had been a leader in the niche market of technical training equipment and systems for over 20 years. With the Australian government making significant investment in skills and training initiatives, the Business found itself in the position of facing rapidly growing client and market demand, while its owner had little appetite for managing additional employees or running a large business. As a specialist in selling mid-sized businesses, Johnsons Corporate was therefore engaged to divest UTTS – ideally to an organisation with an established infrastructure and capacity for growth.
For such an acquirer, this Business represented a great bolt-on opportunity with the vendor prepared to stay on to ensure a successful handover. Some key attributes of the sale included UTTS’ exclusive agency agreements with 12 global suppliers; its unmatched offer in the Australasian marketplace, and; its recognised brand and proven track record. Future growth could be realised through leveraging the increases to capital expenditure by academic and vocational education institutions on technology and training systems.
Johnsons Corporate’s custom research & marketing focused on distributors of technical equipment exposed to sectors including education, defense, and industrial technology as a primary target segment. Secondarily it identified broader education and training companies within Australia. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that uncovered +15 qualified, interested parties. Further vetting resulted in the selection of a preferred buyer and the negotiation of a transaction structure acceptable to both acquirer and vendor.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to selling your business could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
The purchaser, Bestech Sensors and Instrumentation, a national distributor of sensor and testing equipment, was identified within the researched primary market.
The Business comprised the Mechanical Engineering Division of a larger engineering company, SRO Group Pty Ltd. SRO’s Mechanical Division (SMD) operated from industrial premises located near Newcastle with approximately 35 staff. It provided tailored designs and custom manufacture of Light Vehicles & Service Trucks as well as selling proprietary products to OEMs in the Construction & Mining Machinery industry. SMD’s corporate customer-base spanned multiple sectors including mining, construction, contractor, civil engineering and fleet management. The Division positioned itself as a “vehicle compliance specialist” offering complete turnkey solutions at competitive prices and within responsive timeframes.
At the time of sale performance was on track to reach budgeted sales growth of 25% with EBIT of almost 15%. The future was supported by a forward sales pipeline of approximately $10+ million in works. SRO Group engaged Johnsons Corporate – as a specialist in mid-market business sales – to undertake a divestment campaign of its Mechanical Division in order to release capital and facilitate the retirement of one of its two shareholders. The non-retiring shareholder would continue to operate the second Division, specialising in Electrical Engineering.
SMD presented an attractive acquisition as a rapidly growing and well positioned business run under management with a stable of proprietary products and complementary services. Some key features of the Business included an escalating demand environment across multiple growth markets, long term contracts and high switching costs for existing customers. Future growth opportunities included: extending product lines, entering adjacent markets, building recurring repair & maintenance revenues and/or undertaking the wholesale distribution of custom-made product lines.
Johnsons Corporate’s custom research & marketing focused on Manufacturers & Modifiers of custom service vehicles as a primary target segment. Secondarily it identified targets operating in related sectors – including Mechanical Engineering, Metal Fabrication, and Light Engineering – as well as selected private equity & financial buyers. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that uncovered 40 qualified, interested parties. Further vetting and negotiations resulted in the selection of a preferred buyer as well as a backup buyer, with Offer and Acceptance secured within 9 weeks of going to market.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to selling your business could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
The purchaser, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, is a global company that delivers innovative and sustainable global shipping and logistics solutions for manufacturers of cars, trucks, heavy equipment and specialised cargo.
Johnson Corporate’s client was an Educational Tour business, which had been operating for over 30 years in the travel and tourism industry. Trekset Tours specialised in providing tour services for Australian schools – both government and private. Its offer covered customisable turnkey tours to domestic and international destinations, including Australian snowfields.
Established in 1979, the Business was built on the ethos that it wanted to improve overall service to the school-group market and make children feel like first class tourists. By the time of sale, Trekset Tours enjoyed the number one position in the domestic school-group tourism market in Victoria and Tasmania and had experienced growing dominance in the international market for school-group tours. The Business was generating $23 million in annual revenues (and $20 million in forward bookings) and employed approximately 24 long-standing and highly experienced staff as well as 30 seasonal employees. In 2013 the owners decided to exit by way of sale to a third party in order to pursue retirement plans. They engaged Johnsons Corporate as specialist mid-market business brokers to manage their international divestment campaign.
Trekset Tours presented a well-honed and proven business model whose success was attributed to factors including price competitiveness, strategic supplier agreements, school buying processes and renowned tour quality. Most importantly the business model ensured predictable revenue streams locked in 6-12 months in advance of service delivery. This acquisition opportunity offered potential purchasers an immediate solid revenue platform as well as a plethora of options to enjoy future growth – leveraging the brand into extended geographic markets and/or tour categories.
Johnsons Corporate’s custom research & marketing focused on European & US Educational Tour & Travel operators as a primary segment, while secondary segments included European & US General Tour & Travel operators. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that uncovered 4 qualified, interested parties. Further vetting and negotiations resulted in the selection of a preferred buyer, with Offer and Acceptance secured within 4 weeks of going to market.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to selling your business could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
The purchaser, WorldStrides, is a private equity backed, global educational & tour business with annual revenues of approximately $300M. It is the US’s largest and most respected accredited travel organisation, helping over 300,000 students from over 5,000 schools travel each year to destinations in more than 90 countries.
Operating from an island off Queensland with a Canberra office, Intersect Alliance was a niche Security Software business servicing local & international government and corporate clients. InterSect’s flagship product Snare Server provides agents for event monitoring, logging and analysis. These deliver real-time logs across multiple platforms eliminating business risk often associated with other endpoint security monitoring systems. The Snare solution is used by local and international groups including the Commonwealth Treasury, NASA, the US Army, Vodafone and Fujitsu.
Intersect Alliance was highly profitable, making approximately $1M pa. The business had been intentionally kept small, comprising just two Directors and 1 staff member who incorporated lifestyle activities with running the Business (including flying planes and diving in tropical waters).
In 2011 the Directors engaged Johnsons Corporate as a specialist in divesting mid-sized businesses to undertake an international sale campaign on their behalf. Growing market demand for their products & services dictated that the Business expand its operational capacity by increasing staff numbers. Accordingly, the Directors sought an acquirer with complementary skills-sets, an established infrastructure, and the international distribution channel that would provide a platform for expansion. The Directors were eager to continue as employee shareholders retaining up to 20% ownership, however had no desire to manage a growing number of employees.
For potential acquirers Intersect Alliance represented a great bolt-on opportunity, featuring significant intellectual property; a long-term customer-base of large government & tier-one corporate clients; a globally recognised brand; and a highly competitive product offering positioned in a double-digit growth market.
Johnsons Corporate’s custom research & marketing focused on Security Software Firms in the USA. Related secondary market research targeted software firms within Australia (not security specific) with a turnover of +$5M as well as a shortlist of prospective private equity & financial buyers. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that uncovered 12 qualified, interested parties. Further vetting and negotiations resulted in the selection of a preferred buyer, with Offer and Acceptance secured within 9 weeks of going to market.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to selling your business could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
ASX-listed Prophecy International (ASX:PRO) acquired the Business in a cash and stock deal. Prophecy’s core business is design & development of software for customer service & business systems. The Buyer came from Johnsons’ research into related secondary markets (providing PRO diversification into security software).
Our client, Mobility Aids Australia (MAA), is a national distributor of powered and non-powered mobility aids and lifestyle solutions to individual and commercial customers. The Business sources products from global suppliers to provide market leading mobility solutions. Operating from state-of-the-art premises in the Melbourne suburb of Springvale and servicing most of Victoria through travelling consultants, the Business is supported by a team of highly skilled and trained consultants, offers generous product warranties and provides a specialty service department for maintenance and support.
MAA was established in 1997 by its Managing Director. The business quickly gained a strong reputation with health care professionals as a power mobility specialist. After more than 25 years in the sector and 14 years at MAA, the owner sought to exit the industry, by way of sale to a third party, to pursue unrelated investment opportunities. In 2013 he engaged Johnsons Corporate as specialised mid-market business brokers to undertake a divestment campaign on his behalf.
As a strategic acquisition, MAA featured deep relationships built over many years with Health Care Professionals. The Business presented potential buyers an opportunity to leverage its strong referral sources as well as a large customer-base and long-standing supply relationships into significant growth. Immediate opportunities existed in exploiting one or more options, including: development of a commercial sales program, launching a full e-commerce capability, geographical expansion and/or extension of the service &/or hire department offers. Longer-term prospects would be underpinned by Australia’s ageing population and the Government’s commitment to providing support for ageing Australians.
Johnsons Corporate’s custom research & marketing focused on Resellers and Distributors of Mobility Equipment primarily segmented within the aged care and rehabilitation markets. Related / secondary markets comprised resellers & distributors of broader medical equipment and consumables categories within Australia. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that uncovered +40 qualified, interested parties. Further vetting and negotiations resulted in the selection of a preferred buyer in a secondary market, with Offer and Acceptance secured 14 weeks after going to market.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to selling your business could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
The purchaser, Independence Australia, is a national distributor of aged care consumables products and was identified in a related/secondary market. Through its complementary consumer-facing product range, this acquisition furthered Independence’s diversification strategy, broadening its customer offer & market reach.
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.
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).
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 .
For over 40 years Hi-Way Hydraulics has specialised in the sales, service and repairs of hydraulic equipment such as: hydraulic pumps, motors, cylinders, control valves, steering units and transmissions. As the largest service provider of its kind in Regional Southern QLD, the Business operates from two locations Toowoomba and St George servicing customers across a variety of industries – agriculture, cotton ginning, oil and gas, mining services and transport. Hi-Way Hydraulics provides both workshop and mobile field-service solutions as well as custom design, manufacture and installation of hydraulic equipment. Operations are supported by a team of 12 staff and comprehensive Test Room, RAM Room Workshop, Showroom and Mobile Servicing infrastructure.
The brand was first established in 1972 and operated as a family business, except for a brief period in the late 1990’s when it was sold to USA Berendsen. The son of the original founder then established St George Hydraulics and, after repurchasing the Hi-Way Hydraulics brand, reopened in Toowoomba. With no clear succession strategy from within the Business, Hi-Way Hydraulics engaged Johnsons Corporate to run a specialised mid-market divestment campaign to identify prospective purchasers and provide the Vendor with an exit strategy for retirement.
Hi-Way Hydraulics represented a rare opportunity for a purchaser to acquire an established regional brand with consistent revenues of approximately $5 million pa supported by healthy profit margins. There was clear potential to grow the Business via geographical expansion; increased workshop capacity; pursuit of larger tenders; securing new distribution agreements; and placing mobile hose vans on the road.
Johnsons Corporate’s custom research & marketing focused on Australian hydraulic engineering businesses, with secondary markets comprising commercial enterprises in the mining services; mobile and on-site equipment repairs & maintenance; lifting and rigging equipment; and torque equipment & pumps sectors. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that uncovered 39 qualified, interested parties. Further vetting and negotiations resulted in the selection of a preferred buyer as well as a backup buyer. Of note Johnsons secured Offer and Acceptance with the Vendor’s preferred buyer despite going to market during the Mining Crash of 2012.
(Read more about how using a Specialised Mid-Market Business Broker Approach to selling your business could get you a better outcome – just like our client).
A division of ASX-listed Coventry Group Ltd, Cooper Fluid Systems is a specialist provider of hydraulic, pneumatic, fluid transfer and lubrication products and services focused on servicing the mining, construction and manufacturing industries.
Lanier (Australia) Pty Ltd is a leading provider of document management solutions and technology-based services to the SME and Corporate markets in Australia and overseas. The Business is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan-based Ricoh Company Ltd, a global provider of electronic imaging solutions. Lanier Australia employs more than 165 staff with headquarters in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The Business operates through offices in every major capital city and an extensive national dealer network, altogether generating annual turnover of circa AUD $100M. www.lanier.com.au.
Ricoh forwarded a directive to Lanier to diversify its offering into IT Services. The parent company was responding to changing market conditions, which saw the accelerating merger and development of new technologies drive growth in customer demand for support services. Lanier decided to implement this strategy via the purchase of a suitable business that would enable it to quickly establish a National IT Services division. Lanier engaged Johnsons Corporate as specialist Australian mid-market business brokers to execute a national Acquisitions Campaign on its behalf.
Some of the attributes Lanier sought in a target included: a comprehensive B2B IT Services offering, including networked solutions and remote support; revenues between $5 million to $20 million; an appropriately skilled team of engineers; key senior management in place, and; a national footprint including all major cities.
Johnsons’ proprietary research focused on the IT Managed Services sector, identifying businesses along the East Coast of Australia with revenues of $5M to $15M and management in place. Johnsons ran a proactive direct marketing campaign that within 6 weeks resulted in a shortlist of 6 qualified, off-market acquisition targets. 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).
Inspire IT Pty Ltd, a leading provider of IT Managed Services and IT Infrastructure solutions servicing customers in all major cities across Australia, was acquired and incorporated into Lanier to form the new Lanier IT Services division.