Searchlight Capital Partners Completes £270 Million Refinancing of Survitec
Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (“Searchlight” or “the Firm”), a leading global private investment firm, has today announced the completion of a £270 million refinancing of its portfolio company Survitec, a global safety solutions leader. Survitec’s other lead shareholder, global asset manager M&G Investments, also participated as a minority contributor in the refinancing. A significant share of the refinancing proceeds will be utilized to fund the acquisition of Hansen Protection, a leading European provider of specialist survival suits and protective equipment, which is expected to complete in H1 2021.
Survitec is a global leader in the manufacturing and servicing of safety systems for commercial marine and defense applications. Searchlight Capital Partners has been a co-controlling shareholder of Survitec since it led the successful restructuring of the capital structure in H1 2020. Searchlight leveraged its relationship with Ares, which finances a number of its portfolio companies, to complete the refinancing. That this has been concluded so soon after the restructuring is evidence of the strength of Survitec’s high quality business model.
Speaking on the successful refinancing, Ralf Ackermann, Partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, said: “We’re pleased to have worked alongside Survitec’s other major shareholder, M&G Investments, to complete this refinancing, which will position the business well for future growth. We see ample opportunity to further consolidate Survitec’s leading position on the global stage and look forward to continuing our partnership.”
Rafa Cerezo, Fund Manager at M&G Plc, added: “We are delighted to have been able to support Survitec through its refinancing and further participate in the latest refinancing round Survitec has a strong capital structure and supportive and committed shareholders in M&G and Searchlight, and we believe that these provide the business with the perfect opportunity for future growth.”
Ares Management Corporation, a leading alternative investment manager with $197 billion in assets under management, facilitated the refinancing. Daniel Sinclair, Partner in the Ares Credit Group focused on European direct lending, commented: “We are pleased to be providing this financing to a global leader in survival and safety solutions The Survitec management team have been impressive throughout the process and we look forward to supporting them in the next phase of their growth strategy.”
Survitec’s Chief Financial Officer, Ray Leclercq, concluded: “Successfully concluding this financing demonstrates the confidence we believe that Ares and M&G have in our business. This marks a key milestone for Survitec’s customers, employees, shareholders and other partners. We completed this financing with an industry leader such as Ares based on the strength of our underlying business, meeting our current performance targets with year-over-year improvement in profitability as well as our growth plans for the coming years.”