Octopus backs Hydrobolt MBO

Hydrobolt, a manufacturer serving the oil and gas industry, and its sister company Studbolt have been bought by their management in a deal worth £16 million.

Mid-market investor Octopus backed the transaction with £4.5 million from its private equity and intermediate capital funds.

Senior debt facilities and an overdraft were provided by HSBC.

Hydrobolt’s group managing director Jamie Simpson led the buy-out. As part of the deal, Octopus has brought in Peter Andrews as the group’s executive chairman, while Simon Smith, who introduced the deal to Octopus, will join the board as a non-executive director.

Alistair Brew, who led the transaction for Octopus, will also join the group’s board. He comments: ‘Hydrobolt has been highly successful in the past three years, more than doubling in size, and the global end markets in which the company operates offer exciting prospects.’

Established in 1991, Wolverhampton-based Hydrobolt manufactures fasteners for use in high-temperature and high-pressure environments. The company employs more than 90 staff and its turnover in 2006 was £7.5 million.

Marc Barber

Raven Connelly

Marc was editor of GrowthBusiness from 2006 to 2010. He specialised in writing about entrepreneurs, private equity and venture capital, mid-market M&A, small caps and high-growth businesses.

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