3i confirms Aspen Pumps deal

UK: Investment group 3i has confirmed its investment in Aspen Pumps in a £105m deal.

Commenting on the deal, first revealed on the Cooling Post yesterday, Pete Wilson, 3i partner, said: “Aspen is a great fit with our strategy of supporting mid-market companies to grow internationally. It is an excellent business, with best-in-class products addressing structurally growing, global markets. We look forward to working with the team to continue Aspen’s highly successful development through further international growth and product range expansion, as well as actively supporting complementary acquisition opportunities.”

Confessing his delight at the deal with 3i, Aspen chief executive Adrian Thompson, commented: “We have been impressed with their ambition for the business and feel we can benefit greatly from their experience supporting businesses achieve international expansion. We are excited by the opportunity to continue our successful growth with a supportive and insightful partner.”

Aspen has achieved a significant growth in organic sales CAGR of 12% between 2009 and 2014 and delivered EBITA of £10m in the year ended 31 December 2014.

Meanwhile, Inflexion’s managing partner Simon Turner, celebrating a return of 14x on the sale, said “We are exceptionally proud of our partnership with management that has shaped the success of Aspen Pumps. Together, we broke into highly lucrative emerging markets, developed a roadmap for new digital products and acquired market leading businesses that contributed to quadrupled profits during our investment period.”

Aspen is the global leader for mini pumps with some of the most reliable, installer friendly and innovative products on the market.  In addition to pumps, the company sells a range of products for air conditioning installers and engineers, including its range of accessories, Aspen Xtra, and rooftop mounting systems, Big Foot.

Looking ahead, Aspen says it intends to build on its market leading position and further penetrate international markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia through a number of organic and acquisitive initiatives to enhance its offering of value-added components, tools and accessories.

Related stories:

Aspen Pumps set to be acquired by 3i – February 22, 2015
UK: Aspen Pumps is set to be acquired by international investment company 3i in a deal reported to be worth £105m. Read more…