Moore Kingston Smith advises on the sale of Power Adhesives

Moore Kingston Smith has advised Power Adhesives, a specialised manufacturer of hot-melt adhesives and applicators, on its sale to Longacre Group.

Based in Essex, Power Adhesives is a family-owned business distributing products globally with 70% of sales outside the UK.

Longacre Group is a private equity house with a long-term investment horizon focused on the sustainable growth of its portfolio businesses. Power Adhesives joins Longacre’s growing group of highly specialised, technical products and services companies servicing on the B2B end.

Moore Kingston Smith said the transaction was “complex” with multiple shareholders, involving a divestiture, a capex investment plan and export sales growth. 

Power Adhesives approached Moore Kingston Smith to help the company find a new owner to lead the next phase of the company’s expansion. Marc Fecher, Matt McRae and Matt Edwards from the corporate finance team supported Power Adhesives through the process which saw interest from potential acquirers globally.

The corporate team supported its shareholders and management team in navigating the due diligence process and negotiating the deal mechanics and terms in the SPA. They were supported by Michelle Denny-West, Thomas Acland and Amy Tilley from the M&A tax team who provided corporate tax structuring advice. 

Moore Kingston Smith worked alongside Memery Crystal who provided legal advice to Power’s shareholders.

Stephen Sweeney, managing director of Power Adhesives, said: “Marc and his team at Moore Kingston Smith have substantial manufacturing expertise so quickly understood our business. They took us through a strategic review process, set out a plan for our shareholders, structured the sale agreements and ensured we optimised our tax planning. I do not know how we would have managed without them.”

Elliott Nicholson, managing director at Longacre Private Equity, added: “The Moore Kingston Smith team managed the Power Adhesives deal process fantastically well. Moore Kingston Smith has strong credentials in the manufacturing sector and helped us appreciate the exceptional quality of the Power Adhesives business model which gave us the confidence to commit to a deal at an early stage.”

Fecher said: “We are delighted to have worked with Power and Longacre through the sales process. We look forward to following the company as it continues to go from strength to strength.”