Barclays Private Equity sells Fosbel

Barclays Private Equity has sold its investment in Fosbel in a secondary buyout transaction to American Capital Strategies Ltd, a US based buyout and mezzanine firm. The £57m deal generated the firm a return of more than four times its original investment over a two-year period.

Barclays Private Equity backed Fosbel’s management team in a £20m buyout in July 2003. Led by Derek Scott, CEO of Fosbel, the company was bought from its joint owners, Foseco and Glaverbel (a subsidiary of Asahi Glass in Japan).

Under Barclays Private Equity’s ownership, Fosbel has performed strongly, increasing turnover from £23m in 2002 to £48m in the current year.

Fosbel, a provider of ceramic welding maintenance and repair services to oven and glass furnace operators, is based in the West Midlands (UK), Cologne (Germany) and Cleveland (US) and has operations in Japan, China, Australia, India, South Africa and South America. Its clients include prominent steelmakers Mittal Steel, Arcelor, Posco, Mitsubishi, US Steel, AK Ashland Steel, major glass producers Pilkington Glass, Saint Gobain and Guardian and multi national oil companies, BP and Shell.