Zeus is delighted to have acted as Joint Financial Adviser, Joint Broker and Nomad to Strix Group plc on its £38m conditional acquisition of Billi and the associated £13m placing through an accelerated bookbuild process.
Company information
Strix is an AIM quoted global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of kettle safety controls and other complementary water temperature management components. Billi, established in 1989 and headquartered in Melbourne, is renowned for its premium filtered and temperature-controlled water systems and manufacturing innovation. Billi is led by a highly experienced management team with over 50 years of expertise in leadership positions. The acquisition of Billi will materially change Strix’s earnings profile and accelerate its growth plans in its Water & Appliance categories.
This cross-border transaction had additional complexities due to the Billi business being carved out from the Waterlogic Group and involves competition regulators from the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
The transaction will be funded through a new term loan and £13m equity funding.
Zeus has a long history of working with Strix, having worked on its IPO in 2017, advising it as Nomad and broker and as lead financial adviser on its acquisition of Laica SPA in 2020.
The acquisition is conditional upon: (a) completion of the Waterlogic / Culligan merger; and (b) approvals of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority and the New Zealand Commerce Commission.
Zeus team
Members of the Zeus team included: Nick Cowles, Jordan Warburton, Jamie Peel, Matt Hogg, Ed Beddows and John Moran (Investment Banking); Dominic King (Corporate Broking); and Andy Hanson (Research).
Mark Bartlett
CEO of Strix GroupI am delighted to have secured the conditional acquisition of Billi, which accelerates Strix’s strategy with the company and its employees being a great addition to the Group. Similarly to Strix, Billi’s products deal with filtering and heating water, but are complementary to Strix’s existing offer, providing a substantial opportunity for the group. We would like to thank the Zeus team for their unwavering support, introducing us to the Billi opportunity and ensuring the deal got over the line, especially in what has proven to be a challenging environment to execute transactions.
Jordan Warburton
Director, Investment Banking at ZeusIt was a pleasure to once again advise the Strix team on a significant cross border acquisition for the Group, representing its second major transaction while on market, following the acquisition of Laica in 2020. The addition of Billi to the Group provides Strix with further product diversity in the water filtration and boiling water appliance markets, both of which are key to Strix’s future growth plans. Delivering this deal in the current turbulent market conditions is a credit to all involved. The fundraise was well supported by existing and new shareholders, further solidifying Strix’s shares register of blue-chip institutions.
Contact
If you would like further information, please get in touch with our team.
Nick Cowles Co-CEO+44 (0) 161 393 1977+44 (0) 7881 672 405EmailLinkedIn
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Dominic King Head of Corporate Broking+44 (0) 203 829 5607+44 (0) 7825 417 155EmailLinkedIn
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