Steele Raymond advise Shareholders on the Sale of Graytone Limited

Graytone was founded in 2000 to spearhead a group of companies specialising in the global distribution of coatings, composites and associated materials to the aerospace, defence, space, energy & electronics markets. The core capabilities of the Group are sales, marketing, distribution and logistical solutions, as well as value added activities such as on-site technical support, colour blending and small batch manufacturing.

French owned ADDEV Materials is a custom repackaging expert and a specialist distributor of high-performance materials for the aerospace and aviation industries, based in Lyon, France. The purchase of Graytone strengthens their adhesives and chemicals expertise and will consolidate their geographical position in Europe and the Middle East.

Nick Robins, FD of Graytone commented:

“The acquisition represents a great opportunity for the Graytone group of companies in terms of expanding our global reach through ADDEV Materials’ facilities in Europe and North America, and the potential to widen our product portfolio to our ever- increasing customer base. The teams at Steele Raymond and PKF Francis Clark ensured a smooth process and helped deliver excellent value for the shareholders.”

The legal teams at leading Dorset solicitors Steele Raymond including Tim Stone, Craig Hardman, Paul Longland, Jennifer Rogerson and Shaun Guppy advised on a wide variety of legal matters including company law, finance and banking, property and employment matters.

Tim Stone said:

“We have worked with Graytone for more than 10 years and over that time it has been great to see the growth of the business internationally. A very clear growth strategy has always been at the heart of the business and this has been delivered by a professional management team. Acquisitions by overseas buyers often increases the complexity of transactions but we have an experienced team of mergers and acquisitions specialists at Steele Raymond who frequently deal with complex international M&A work ensuring transactions proceed as efficiently as possible. It’s an exciting time for Graytone with some clear ambitions for growth and we wish them all the very best for the future.”

The Corporate Finance team at PKF Francis Clark were Paul Stout, Chris Potts and Lisa Whitbread who acted as lead advisers on the sale undertaking negotiation, tax advice, deal structuring and assisting and managing the due diligence process.

Paul Stout said: “We were pleased to lead this transaction and support Graytone in its ambitions to grow the business through increased investment. We wish the Graytone team every success for the future.”

If you would like further legal advice on buying or selling a business please contact Tim Stone on 01202 294 566 or email [email protected].