Spectris completed three acquisitions during 2024, two based in the US and one in Austria, with a combined enterprise value of £821m. While Spectris had some surplus cash on balance sheet following a number of business disposals, this level of acquisition expenditure required the group treasury team to raise significant debt funding at very short notice.
The team achieve this through a $400m bridge facility, originally with one relationship bank but subsequently extended to four, plus a $250m three-year floating rate term euro/dollar loan with the same four banks.
The team then replaced the bridge with a debut $400m equivalent US private placement, with two of Spectris’ four banks acting as joint active agents on the USPP. The transaction saw exceptional demand, with more than $1bn of orders from 14 investors.
The treasury team achieved this in less than four months, working in close collaboration with several internal and external stakeholders. Prior to the acquisition financing, the team renegotiated a core £400m RCF on highly competitive terms and with changes made to the banking group to make for a better fit both from a geographic and product need perspective.
The deal did not just provide liquidity for Spectris to make the three acquisitions in the short term, but also to put in place a longer-term, through-the-cycle debt structure that offered the enlarged business a balance of flexibility, certainty of funds and competitive rates, with maturities staggered to avoid any future concentration of refinancing requirement.
With three acquisitions broadly at the same time requiring quick and confidential access to the private placement market... It was well banked, well executed and well priced
