Navigator launches tender offer for shares of UK tissue manufacturer

Navigator Paper UK Limited, part of The Navigator Company, has launched a takeover bid for all the shares in the share capital of Accrol Group Holdings plc, a UK-based tissue manufacturer.

Founded in 1993, Accrol currently operates five manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, producing private label toilet tissue, kitchen rolls, facial tissue and wet wipes for the country’s leading retail chains.

According to the Portuguese company, the Board of Directors of Accrol, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, recommends the offer, subject to the specific terms and conditions set out in the relevant announcement, issued in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the UK Mergers and Acquisitions Code, as well as terms and conditions to be detailed by Accrol in a document to be disclosed in due course, as part of the offer process.

For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2023, Accrol recorded revenues of £242 million, Adjusted Ebitda of £15.6 million and reported Net Debt (pre-IFRS 16) of £26.8 million. For the six months ended October 31, 2023, the UK company recorded revenues of £100.3 million and Adjusted Ebitda of £10.2 million for the period.

Accrol’s management has set, for the current fiscal year, an annual revenue forecast of £205 million and Adjusted Ebitda of at least £21.0 million.

 

According to Navigator, this transaction marks another milestone in the company’s diversification and growth strategy in the tissue market, initiated in 2015. This move follows the March 2023 acquisition of the assets and business of Goma Camps Consumer Tissue in Spain. This acquisition increased Navigator’s total production capacity to 165 thousand tons of rolls and 180 thousand tons of tissue converting capacity per year, generating around €293 million in annual revenues.

The Navigator Company considers Accrol a well-managed tissue business and one of the leading companies in the UK private label market segment, maintaining good commercial relationships with major tissue customers. The company also envisions long-term value creation with the integration of Accrol, focusing on consolidating its position as a trusted and trusted player in the UK private label market and continuing to expand the business across all product segments, leveraging Accrol’s highly valued professional and experienced workforce, as well as the company’s industrial assets, which Navigator plans to keep fully operational.

In addition, Navigator will continue to build on Accrol’s good business relationships and adopt the best operating practices of both companies to improve the company’s overall productivity and performance in the UK, according to a statement from the Portuguese company.

The proposed acquisition of Accrol will strengthen Navigator’s position in the Western European tissue market. The company expects the combined group to generate more than £500 million in sales in this segment, with the UK market contributing approximately 50% of total tissue turnover.