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FMBX News
Posted: Nov 3, 2011
REL Field Marketing's sale agreed as Photon Group sheds division
Australia’s Photon Group Limited has announced the sale of its Field Marketing and Retail Agencies division to Navis Capital Partners for cash consideration of $146.5 million in a transaction that, when completed, will leave Photon debt free. The division that has been sold includes one of the UK’s leading field marketing agencies, REL.
Photon's chief executive officer Jeremy Philips has stated that following completion of the transaction, the marketing services business would be greatly simplified, with 14 agencies, and would have an excess cash balance of at least $15 million.
Says Philips: "At the beginning of the 2011 financial year, Photon was an eclectic mix of 45 highly uneven business units in five divisions. The company carried an entirely unsustainable debt load of $450 million."
"During the course of the past year Photon has been transformed through this transaction, other divestments, a recapitalisation, and a corporate restructure. We have now transformed Photon into an unleveraged, focused, transparent company, with leading Australian and international agencies including Naked, BMF, and BWM."
Under the agreement, Photon will sell its Field Marketing and Retail agencies including Demonstration Plus, Club Sales & Marketing, Powerforce, Ausrep, and REL - as well as two closely-related businesses - Artel and another UK business, Retail Insight.
Craig Hart, who headed the division under the Photon Group’s ownership, will become chief executive officer of the entity that will own these agencies after completion."
The business is being purchased by a fund advised by Navis Capital Partners, South East Asia's largest private equity business. Philip Latham of Navis said: "We are extremely excited to be partnering Craig and his management team in growing Australia's largest field marketing operations and are keen to pursue an expansion strategy across South East Asia, China and Asia".
The sale, which is subject to certain customary conditions, is scheduled for completion on 30 November 2011.
