EAST MIDLANDS FIRMS ‘COOK’ UP A £25M DEAL FOR KITCHEN COMPANY

Polish manufacturing giant Amica Group has bought Notts-based kitchen appliance company The CDA Group Ltd in a £25 million acquisition which was originated by expert advisers from Cooper Parry Corporate Finance.

Cooper Parry has been working with £43 million turnover CDA, which is headquartered on a nine-acre site in Langar, for more than three years to help bring about the buy-out.

Andy Parker, partner at Cooper Parry Corporate Finance, was the lead advisor to CDA. His team originated and led the transaction. Other East Midlands advisors to CDA were Mark Rutherford from law firm Gateleys and Simon Browning of UHY Hacker Young who was tax adviser.

Andy said:

“This has been a highly satisfactory acquisition for Cooper Parry in that we introduced the Polish buyer to CDA at the very outset and have worked with both organisations since day one.

“While CDA wasn’t looking for a move of this type, we could see there was a mutual fit between these two firms and so began the conversations. We have been working with both parties for more than three years to work on the deal and have been there every step of the way in terms of the negotiations.”

CDA was established 24 years ago to sell built-in products complemented by a freestanding kitchen range. The company has grown to now employ more than 200 people and has expanded over the years – with stable growth of both CDA and its Matrix brands.

The acquisition of CDA is part of Amica Group’s long term expansion strategy to enhance the home market-leading position in Poland, as well as a strong presence in its larger markets of Germany, Russia and Scandinavia.

“The acquisition helps combine both parties’ strengths,” added Andy. “Amica – with its own production experience, scale of operations and large R&D department – and CDA with its unique brand style and well developed infrastructure.

“Cooper Parry prides itself in the way it works proactively with businesses in this way. The CDA acquisition is another great example of the way we work.”

Mark Rutherford, partner at Nottingham-based Gateleys, said:

“This was quite a complex transaction but we worked together with our other co-advisors to ensure that it was a smooth acquisition for both parties.”

Amica Group is listed on the Warsaw stock exchange and produces most of the freestanding and integrated cooking products at its base in Western Poland. The group has developed dynamically over the past few years and now has around 2,500 employees worldwide. Amica is active in more than 50 countries with an annual turnover of more than €500 million across its brands.

The Amica and CDA brands will continue to be operated as two businesses. The Amica, CDA and Matrix brands will continue to be developed in their main channels in order to contribute to the realisation of Amica Group’s long term strategy to grow revenue to €1.2 billion by 2023, and to ensure geographical diversification of sales.

Ian Kershaw, MD of CDA, said:

“We are delighted to be part of the hugely successful Amica brand. We have an ambition to put a CDA appliance in every home in the UK, and under the umbrella of Amica we can achieve that.

“In every conceivable way this deal is exactly what CDA needs to take the next step in our journey. We are very fortunate to have the considerable resources of one of the fastest growing appliance companies in the world behind us. All of our staff and trade partners can only look forward to even greater times ahead.”

The acquisition of CDA Group Ltd enhances Amica’s position in Western Europe and drives its geographic diversification strategy, said Jacek Rutkowski, CEO of Amica.

“The transaction immediately raises the revenues we generate on the British market by 300 per cent and the revenues of Amica Group as a whole by 10 per cent. Furthermore, we expect significant synergies to boost our profitability in the near future. Our market expansion in Western Europe is gaining momentum,” he added.

Simon Browning, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said:

“We were very pleased to advise The CDA Group and its shareholders on their tax affairs during this acquisition by Amica Group. The transaction had a number of complexities and we are delighted that the acquisition is now complete.”