Robinson Manufacturing are very proud to have won the Finance Transaction of the Year award at the 2019 Finance Awards in Milton Keynes last night. The award was won for the acquisition led by CEO Simon Kidney in January of the assets of ETFS, National Hickman’s joist manufacturing arm, owned by US firm Masonite.
Simon explained the rationale behind the deal: “Almost entirely complementary to RML’s manufacturing operation, ETFS gave us an immediate and substantial boost in manufacturing capacity available to housebuilders across the West Midlands.”
Despite cultural and legal hurdles inevitable with a transatlantic deal, as well as the complexity of extracting a subsidiary company from Masonite’s UK arm, RML closed the deal in just 10 working days, on 29th January 2019. The deal was essentially self-funding, with the assets-only purchase significantly strengthening RML’s cash position.
“Since the deal went through, the ETFS team have been welcomed into the RML family, strengthening our senior leadership team,” Simon continued. “We are delighted to say we have been able to capitalise on our investment in the additional production capacity to bring in many more truss and joist joint deals so the deal has proven its worth to Robinson Manufacturing many times over.”
The Awards, organised by ICAEW, Robert Walters, RSM and HSBC, are an annual event highlighting outstanding businesses that contribute to the economy and employment in the region.