Dumont Investments Ltd

Company Sales and Acquisitions

Acquisitions are clearly negotiated on a case-by-case basis. They require time, discretion, close attention to detail and skill.

Key Points

Dumont’s aim is to steer each transaction to a successful closing.

• Confidentiality is crucial at all stages
• Dumont acts exclusively on behalf of only one party (buyer or seller, as client)
• Dumont has a success-based fee philosophy; the client-fee only becomes payable on completion of the transaction

Deal Process

Dumont takes each of its clients through the stages of each transaction and carries its share of this work-load on its own account, from deal initiation to closing. In brief, the process is:-

• Establish the required basis of the transaction, including pre-sale/pre-purchase matters. For sellers, after the investment of years building the business, the exit-strategy needs to be carefully worked out; timing, tax issues and presenting a continuing and sustainable business are most important
• Identify possible counter-parties to the transaction (the other buyers or sellers)
• Progress to a list of pre-qualified parties and non-binding offers
• Progress through due diligence to a binding offer from the approved counter-party and a Sale & Purchase Agreement, with very careful consideration of clauses related to warranties, indemnities and taxation
• Co-ordinate the timetable to final signatures and closing of the transaction

Consultancy

Consultancy support is specific to each client’s needs. Three examples are:-

• Dumont has worked in Poland with one of the WSE (Warsaw Stock Exchange) listed commercial banks (which is controlled by one of the three leading German banks) to develop marketing out-reach and name recognition in the U.K. and in Scandinavia
• Dumont is working with a developing private U.K. company, where it provides services in the areas of patents, ‘key document’ drafting, and company administration
• Dumont is assisting in co-ordinating research/development documentation between a UK/German company, its Chinese associate, and one of the UK’s leading universities

Deal Size and Sector Specialisation

Sums paid are invariably confidential, but Dumont has typically negotiated sale prices in millions of pounds, or in the low tens of millions of pounds.

Dumont particularly focuses on service sectors, where businesses provide services on a contractual basis through staff having particular skills.

This service sector includes:-

• daily office cleaning
• specialised cleaning (pressure cleaning, industrial, drains)
• aircraft and airport terminal cleaning
• re-fueling
• de-icing
• car parking
• passenger and cargo handling
• security
• pest control
• landscaping/ landscape maintenance
• fire and flood services
• catering

Other sectors where assignments have been undertaken are:-

• transport and logistics
• food and beverage
• fabrication (automotive and other sectors)
• energy
• publishing and media
• building materials, buildings and air conditioning
• hotels and recreation
• chemicals and paints
• confectionery
• franchise businesses