PE supports formation of aerospace design and manufacture company

Investee Company – Trim Engineering Group, (UK)

Investee Company Business Type – Aircraft component manufacturer

Type of Financing – Acquisition and merger

Equity Providers – Lloyds TSB Development Capital (LDC) and Bridgepoint Capital

Equity Leader (Individual) – Jonanthan Simm, Julian Carr (LDC), Martin Dunn, James Murray Bridgepoint Capital

Debt Providers – The Royal Bank of Scotland.

Debt Type – Undisclosed

Debt Leader (Individual) – Undisclosed

Equity Amount – £55 million

Total Deal Value – £55 million

Other Advisors – Nabarro Nathanson, and Arthur Andersen, for Mayflower PLC. Blake Lapthorne for the management. CSFB, and Morgan, Lewis and Bockius for the vendor. KPMG (due diligence), PricewaterhouseCoopers (due diligence), CMS Cameron McKenna, Horwath Corporate Finance, for the equity providers

Comments – Lloyds TSB and Bridgepoint Capital have acquired Trim Engineering Group, with plans to merge the group with Mayflower Technical Services, an automotive design consultancy. The Royal Bank of Scotland is currently structuring a debt package for the transaction. The new company will operate under the trading name of Mayflower Aerospace and Rail Systems Ltd.

The new Group will create the market leader in the aerospace supply chain. Trim Engineering Group is currently the leading UK manufacturer of aerospace components and has customers such as BAe Systems, Airbus, and Shorts (Bombardier).

The new combined venture will have a turnover of approximately £70 million in 2001. The company employs 1000 staff.

Jonathan Simm of Lloyds TSB said: “The merger of these two companies and the significant capital expenditure that is planned, will enable Mayflower Aerospace and Rail Systems to emerge as a new tier one supplier to the aerospace industry.”

The underlying growth in demand for aircraft is set to increase in the next five years so this is the time to establish a leading market force in the sector of manufacture to supply, according to Martin Dunn of Bridgepoint Capital. The merger will enable the company to play a leading role in the major aerospace programmes that are forecast for the next ten years.