REG - Babcock Intnl Group - Sale of part of aerial emergency services business

Babcock InternationalAnnouncement

19/07/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 8908S  Babcock International Group PLC  19 July 2022

19 July 2022

 

Babcock to sell part of its aerial emergency services business

 

Babcock International Group PLC (Babcock) is pleased to announce that it has
entered into an agreement with funds managed by Ancala Partners, a mid-market
infrastructure investor, for the sale of certain of its aerial emergency
services businesses for a gross cash consideration of €136.2 million (which
equates to around £115 million), subject to closing adjustments and before
transaction costs.

These businesses provide aerial emergency medical services, firefighting and
search & rescue to customers and communities in Italy, Spain, Portugal,
Norway, Sweden and Finland. They employ over 2,400 highly trained employees
and operate a fleet of 232 aircraft across 164 operational locations in the
six countries. Babcock will retain its aerial emergency services businesses in
its focus countries of the UK, France, Canada and Australia, where the Group
also operates defence businesses.

The sale forms part of Babcock's portfolio alignment programme, designed to
focus the Group and reduce complexity. Proceeds from the transaction will be
retained for general corporate purposes.

Babcock CEO David Lockwood said: "The agreement marks another significant step
forward in our strategy to align our portfolio. I would like to thank
colleagues for their commitment and hard work in providing vital services for
their customers, not least through the pandemic, and I wish them and Ancala
every success for the future."

The businesses being sold are part of Babcock's Aviation sector. For the year
ended 31 March 2021 they reported revenues of £407 million and a loss before
tax of £177 million, including a £6 million contribution before allocated
overheads, exceptional items and other one-off adjustments arising from the
Contract Profitability and Balance Sheet review.

 

As of 31 March 2021, gross assets were £631 million (year ended 31 March 2020
£881 million), with net assets excluding cash of £156m and net lease
liabilities of £230 million.

 

Based on unaudited figures for the year ended 2022, the businesses have
recorded revenue of £405 million, and a loss before tax of £10 million (an
operating profit contribution of c£13 million before allocated overheads). As
of 31 March 2022, based on unaudited figures, gross assets were £635 million
and net lease liabilities were £209 million.

 

Completion of the agreement is subject to certain regulatory and other
conditions. The deal is expected to complete by the end of the calendar year,
subject to the satisfaction of the relevant conditions.

Further information will be provided upon completion of the deal.

 

Ends

 

For further information:

 

 Andrew Gollan, Babcock Director of Investor Relations  +44 (0)7936 039004
 Kate Hill, Babcock Group Director of Communications    +44 (0)20 7355 5312
 Olivia Peters / Harry Cameron, Tulchan Communications  +44 (0)20 7353 4200

 

Notes to Editors

 

About Babcock

Babcock is an international aerospace, defence and security company, with a
leading naval business, providing value add services across a range of
countries, including the UK, France, Canada, Australia and South Africa. We
help customers in the UK and around the world to improve the capability,
reliability and availability of their most critical assets.

 

 

About Ancala Partners

Ancala is an experienced and entrepreneurial investor in critical mid-market
infrastructure. Founded in 2010 as an independent investment manager, Ancala
adopts a unique approach combining differentiated investment sourcing with
active asset management.

 

Ancala invests in a broad range of infrastructure sectors, focusing on assets
which have downside protection and strong earnings visibility. With an
emphasis on proprietary opportunities which have arisen from unique
situations, Ancala leverages deep sector knowledge and operational
capabilities, combined with a strong network developed through decades of
operating in the European infrastructure market, across all its investments.
This enables the firm to develop assets for the long term and deliver superior
value to investors.

 

For more information, please visit www.ancala.com (https://www.ancala.com/) .

 

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