M&A Deal Summary

Dignity and Funeral Partners Acquire Laurel Funerals

On June 16, 2015, Dignity and Funeral Partners acquired consumer services company Laurel Funerals from Metric Capital Partners, Duke Street Private Equity and Barings Private Equity for 75M GBP

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Dignity’s 1st and Funeral Partners’ 1st transaction in the Consumer Services sector.
  • This is Dignity’s and Funeral Partners’ largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Dignity’s 1st and Funeral Partners’ 1st transaction in the United Kingdom.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2015-06-16
Target Laurel Funerals
Sector Consumer Services
Buyer(s) Dignity
Funeral Partners
Sellers(s) Metric Capital Partners
Duke Street Private Equity
Barings Private Equity
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 75M GBP

Target

Laurel Funerals

Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Laurel Funerals Ltd. is engaged in conducting funeral services. Laurel Funerals was formed in 1995 and is based in Wolverhampton.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

Dignity

West Midlands, United Kingdom
Category Company
Founded 1840
Sector Consumer Services
Employees2,450
Revenue 210M GBP (2014)
DESCRIPTION

At Dignity we are funeral people – it's all we do. We strive to set the highest standards for the funeral profession in terms of client service and care for the deceased.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 2
Sector (Consumer Services) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 2
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 2
Year (2015) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 2
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2024-10-17 Farewill

London, United Kingdom

Farewill is an online service providing legal forms and information intended to deal with all paperwork after death. Farewill was founded in 2015 and is based in London, United Kingdom.

Buy £13M
Buyer

Funeral Partners

Nottingham, United Kingdom
Category Company
Founded 2007
Sector Consumer Services
Employees500
DESCRIPTION

Funeral Partners is a funeral services provider in the UK, with over 130 branches throughout the country. The Company has circa 500 staff and oversees approximately 10,500 funerals per year. Funeral Partners model is based on acquiring independent funeral directors, retaining their heritage - a major asset - and putting in investment, training and improved processes in order to build a brand with a reputation for absolute reliability, trust and quality. Funeral Partners was founded in 2007 and is based in Nottingham, United Kingdom.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 1
Sector (Consumer Services) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 1
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 1
Year (2015) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1

Seller(S) 3

SELLER

Metric Capital Partners

Category Mezzanine Finance Firm
Founded 2011
Size Small
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Metric Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on proving financing solutions to small and mid-sized companies across Europe. Investment funds are generally used to support buyouts, refinancings, growth capital financings, rescues, and shareholder liquidity needs. Metric Capital Partners was formed in 2011 and is based in London.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 8
Sector (Consumer Services) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 2
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 3
Year (2015) 1 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2014-10-14 YM&U

London, United Kingdom

YM&U is an integrated provider of talent representation and management services for the entertainment, music, sports and scripted industries in the U.K. and U.S. With c. 300 employees, the company acts as talent agent and manager for c. 1,000 clients and offers professional services (accounting, legal and business management) to an additional c. 1,100 clients. YM&U was founded in 1984 and is based in London, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-10-21 McCurrach

Glasgow, United Kingdom

McCurrach offers outsourced field sales services designed to ensure that a product is visible to consumers and available at the point of purchase across a variety of channels. McCurrach was founded in 1898 and is based in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Buy -
SELLER

Duke Street Private Equity

London, United Kingdom

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1988
PE ASSETS 3.0B EUR
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Duke Street Private Equity is a European private equity firm that targets investments in mid-market UK and French businesses valued between €50 and €350 million. Duke Street looks to build companies through organic growth and acquisitions. Sectors of interest include business services and outsourcing, retail and consumer, food, industrial, healthcare, leisure, and financial services. Duke Street Private Equity was founded in 1988 and is based in London.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 34 of 43
Sector (Consumer Services) 2 of 2
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 12 of 17
Country (United Kingdom) 21 of 26
Year (2015) 2 of 6
Size (of disclosed) 16 of 18
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-03-09 Payzone UK

Cheshire, United Kingdom

Payzone UK Ltd. is the largest consumer payments network in the country with over 7,500 retail agents which process a variety of electronic transaction services, including mobile phone top-ups, debit/credit card transactions; M50 motorway toll payments; Leap travel cards, local property tax payments, parking fees, schools and clubs payment platform, pre-paid utility and parcel collection services.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-06-22 Biomnis SA

Lyon, France

Biomnis, formerly Laboratoire Marcel Mérieux, is a provider of pathological analysis in the fields of molecular diagnostics, tissue, fertility treatment and specialised biochemistry. It provides services on behalf of laboratories throughout France, operating two specialist sites in Paris and Lyon, with further sites in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Dublin and Dubai. The group also owns a fully integrated logistics operation, TSE, handling five million samples per annum, collected daily throughout France.

Sell €220M
SELLER

Barings Private Equity

Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1991
PE ASSETS 5.7B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Barings Private Equity is the private equity arm of global asset management firm Barings. The Group looks to invest in mezzanine, distressed, and other private equity transactions including secondaries and funds. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, business services, distribution, consumer products, consumer services, food products, packaging, and healthcare. Barings Private Equity was originally established in 1991 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 13 of 37
Sector (Consumer Services) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 10 of 23
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 3
Year (2015) 4 of 6
Size (of disclosed) 6 of 8
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-04-13 America s Auto Auction

Dallas, Texas, United States

America's Auto Auction is a wholesale automobile auction company offering a full spectrum of remarketing services for both buyers and sellers of used vehicles. America's Auto Auction was formed in 2005 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-07-13 RANDYS

Everett, Washington, United States

RANDYS is an automotive aftermarket provider of highly engineered components under the Yukon and USA Standard brands. The company's main product categories include differentials, ring & pinion, and axle products that are generally used to improve the towing and/or traction performance of a vehicle. RANDYS was founded in 1982 and is based in Everett, Washington.

Buy -
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal