CVC Capital Partners ("CVC") announced today that funds advised by CVC have agreed to acquire Domestic & General Group ("D&G") in partnership with the existing management team.
D&G has been looking after people when their household appliances break down for over 60 years. Today, D&G is Europe's leading extended warranty specialist with operations spanning the UK and 9 other European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The group provides product protection on over 22 million major appliances and consumer electronic products, for 15 million customers, generating annual sales of over £600 million.
D&G has long-standing partnerships with the major appliance manufacturers and retailers, to provide consumers with extended warranty services across the full range of domestic appliances. D&G's comprehensive service covers product registration, warranty design, customer interaction; policy management, claims handling, repair administration and post-repair customer service. Through these services, D&G has become both a valued strategic partner for its clients, as well as providing high quality service and peace of mind to its appliance owners.
D&G has a strong record of long-term expansion, and has continued to grow sales and profits throughout the global economic downturn. This has been achieved by expanding its client and customer base, and working closely with clients to provide customers with a wider range of products and services. More recently D&G has started to roll out its unique partnership model to new countries.
In a joint statement, Pev Hooper, Partner at CVC and Peter Rutland, Senior Managing Director at CVC said: "We are very pleased to be investing to acquire D&G alongside management. John Pearmund and his team have built a great business, with real long term growth potential. We look forward to working with them and using CVC's international resources to help take D&G to the next stage of its development."
John Pearmund, Chief Executive of D&G said: "We are delighted to have CVC as a partner as we enter the next phase of our company's growth. We very much welcome the support, opportunities and resources which CVC will bring to D&G to enable us to build further on our success to date in the UK and internationally."
CVC was advised by UBS, OC&C Strategy Consultants, KPMG and Clifford Chance. Fully committed debt financing is being provided by Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, Société Générale and UBS. Management was advised by Macfarlanes and Jamieson Corporate Finance.
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory clearances and is expected to take place during Q4 2013.