Noahs Ark chemical distributor

After 20 years of building and running a successful chemical distribution company, brother and sister team Bharat and Rashmi decided it was the right time to take a step back.

As a long-standing client of Price Bailey, our team had seen the pair build Noahs Ark Chemicals to be a £60m turnover business operating across Europe through entities based in the UK, Belgium and Switzerland.

Once the decision to sell had been made, the pair were keen to move the transaction as quickly as possible against a very clear timetable. Price Bailey was engaged as the lead advisors and tasked to negotiate agreeable terms, provide tax advice, and project manage the transaction through to completion within a short timescale. Three companies, not within a group structure, were being sold that were based in three different countries and using three different currencies.

Our team worked quickly to start negotiating the most material terms, including a potentially complex convertible loan. Price Bailey also provided in-depth international tax advice. After discussing the offer for several weeks, verbal Heads of Terms were agreed in late December and then signed in the first week of January.

The Price Bailey team had been preparing and advising on the due diligence process and preparing a proforma of the completion accounts. As expected, the due diligence process was thorough and coordinating stakeholder response across the three countries was a key hurdle to transact within the timeframe. Using our experience within the sector and of the company, Price Bailey were able to provide assurance throughout the due diligence process, maintaining value.

Completion took place in early March and according to the planned timeline, and just 56 days after signing Heads of Terms.

The transaction was successful, enjoyable and moved at pace. Success came down to strong and clear negotiation from both sides, constant communication, diligent work and strong project management.
Commenting on the transaction, Bharat, the vendor, said:

“We are very pleased to have completed on the transaction and are confident we leave the company in safe hands. The Price Bailey corporate finance team were a great support to us throughout the transaction. They worked within our tight timescales and were on hand at every stage; we felt like they were as vested in it as us. It was important to have an advisor that we can trust and who didn’t just treat us like their next deal.”

Chand Chudasama, Partner, Price Bailey:

“It has been a pleasure working with the family over a number of years and seeing what they have built. We are proud to have supported the sale of Noahs Ark and enjoyed working on each of the stages. As the economy moves out of the pandemic, businesses in resilient sectors that have an international reach will become attractive targets, and this transaction just shows that it is possible to move at pace and deliver successfully.”