DH exits Knowles

Doughty Hanson has sold US technology manufacturer Knowles Electronics to Dover Corporation for US$750m (E613m), generating a 1.7x return.

This is the seventh significant exit from Doughty Hanson & Co Fund III, the 1998 fund which closed on US$2.66bn (E2.2bn) and has so far returned over US$4bn (E3.3bn) to investors.

The firm first invested in Knowles in 1999, when it invested US$180m (E147m) in a US$530m (E433m) deal. Under Doughty’s watch, US$20m (E16m) was saved in annual costs, and US$25m (E20m) of cash was generated by reducing working capital.

The sale caps a busy summer of exits for Doughty: it has floated RHM toward the top of its indicative price range, sold Priory Group to ABN AMRO for E1.29bn (both exits from Fund III), and floated Saft.