BSW Timber Acquired By Binderholz
BSW Timber has been acquired by Austrian timber heavyweight Binderholz. The deal is subject to normal closing conditions and approval from the Austrian Competition Commission and UK Financial Conduct Authority.
The BSW Group has six main operating divisions – tree nurseries, forestry management, tree harvesting, sawmilling, biomass energy, and timber processing and distribution – operating as BSW Timber, BSW Energy, Tilhill, Dick Brothers, Alvic Plastics, Maelor Forest Nurseries, BSW Timber Solutions and Bayram Timber. BSW Group is the largest timber and forestry business in the UK, with combined turnover of over £650million and capacity to produce over 1.2 million cubic metres of sawn timber per year. The sawmilling business operates at seven sites across the UK and one in Latvia.
Under the leadership of CEO Tony Hackney, BSW will integrate with Binderholz. “Our management teams across the business units remain and the whole team will be supported by the Binder family and senior management,” said Tony. “The long-established name of BSW will remain, and business will be as normal, with much greater opportunity to supply a wider basket of products. We will be enhancing our capabilities to further expand our capacity and grow further in supply to all sectors. We are all excited and thoroughly committed to support the business through a transitionary period under new ownership and have demonstrated our ability to do this. I am very grateful to our previous owners Endless LLP and the whole team for the support they have given us all at BSW.”
Following the acquisition, Binderholz and BSW plan to undertake a significant capital investment program in the sites to increase capacity and broaden the capabilities of the business. “The acquisition of BSW will strengthen Binderholz’s capabilities and further broaden BSW’s product offering and service to customers,” added Reinhard Binder, Chairman of the Binderholz group of companies.
Aidan Robson, Founding Partner of Endless LLP, said: “We are proud of what we have achieved at BSW in such a short period of time and have enjoyed working with the BSW team. We are delighted to be selling the business to such a good home in Binderholz, who have such a strong track record of growth and a market leading reputation. We feel this acquisition is hugely positive for BSW employees, its customers and the whole supply chain.”
Established in 1950 and headquartered in Fügen, in Tyrol, Binderholz has 13 further sites and employs 3,000 people across five sites in Austria (Fügen, Jenbach, St. Georgen, Hallein and Unternberg), five sites in Germany (Kösching, Burgbernheim, Oberrot, Baruth and Wolfegg), two sites in Finland (Lieksa und Nurmes), and two sites in the USA (Live Oak in Florida and Enfield, in North Carolina). Binderholz has a turnover of €1.4billion and produces over 5.5 million m3 per year of sawn products.
“We are very pleased to be strengthening our position in the value-added timber market by becoming part of the Binderholz family. The opportunity to enhance our supply chain and additionally widen our product offering is exciting. This represents another major milestone in the growth of BSW and we are looking forward to drawing on the expertise and knowledge of the Binderholz team. I would also like to thank the Endless LLP team for their huge support over the last few years.”
Endless LLP and BSW were advised by MCF (Corporate Finance), Walker Morris (Legal, PWC (Financial and Tax), Deloitte (Pensions), Wills Towers Watson (Insurance) and Propaganda (Brand). Binderholz were advised by Alvarez and Marsal (Financial, Tax and Pensions), Flick Gocke Schaumberg (Legal) and MacFarlanes (Legal).
