Browne Jacobson advises global corporate PBE Group on strategic acquisition and cross-border holdco corporate financing

Private equity and banking specialists at Browne Jacobson have advised global corporate industrial investment company, PBE Group on both its successful acquisition of Advanced Diesel Engineering (ADE) – a leading UK manufacturer and supplier of generators and critical power solutions for an undisclosed sum – and a cross-border holdco corporate financing and refinancing.

The Browne Jacobson team comprised Birmingham based private equity partner Gareth Davies and banking partner Paul Hill who between them led a deal team of over 30 lawyers in a variety of jurisdictions across 3 continents (US, Europe and Australia).

The acquisition will support the further development and growth of ADE’s product portfolio and international profile and the financing platform will facilitate both the operations and growth of the business.

PBE Group, which is headquartered in London, was established in 1971 and originally specialised in designing and manufacturing safety and monitoring technology for the US mining industry. The business was sold in 2011, and a new management team were appointed. The business has grown rapidly since then and has expanded from one location in the US selling to mines within driving distance, to nearly 20 locations selling globally. The business now proudly supplies its customers with an expansive suite of electrics and electronics products for IoT, communications, safety, monitoring and power applications, predominantly in the infrastructure and mining industries.

Stuart Champion de Crespigny, CEO of PBE Group said:

“ADE already has a fantastic manufacturing and supply business model, a really diverse portfolio and a really strong reputation for being a trusted provider of critical power solutions in the UK, which we are proud to be a part of. This investment will really help to amplify the great things they are known for on an international level.

“Both Gareth and Paul’s teams worked seamlessly and to a very tight timescale in order to help us to achieve a great result in this complex cross-border deal. The team has great commercial awareness, fully available and great knowledge in complex deal structures and really gets to the root of what a business is trying to achieve.”

Gareth Davies said: “This is the second acquisition we have acted for PBE Group, and we are delighted to have advised the team again on this significant investment and partnering. ADE will now be able to grow its income stream, product line and broaden its client base on a global level. This transaction is a premium example of our strong cross-border advisory capabilities.”

Paul Hill added: “This was a great transaction to be a part of. We want our clients to be able to succeed with their growth plans and are delighted to have assisted in putting in a place a streamlined debt platform which both facilitates the group’s international operations and future expansion.

“This linkages between the acquisition and financing structure resulted in this transaction being a great example of our seamless cross-discipline approach and it was fantastic to be able to deliver on the client’s goals through a fully joined-up service across the M&A and Banking teams.”