W.C.Bradley is a large privately-owned US company, operating predominantly in the home and leisure lifestyle market. Headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, it is a multi-brand supplier of consumer goods and services with over 130 year history of trading.
Preston Innovations ("Prestons") is a UK fishing tackle specialist, with a leading brand in match fishing, whilst it also has a growing presence in the coarse, carp and bait segments with the Korum, Avid Carp and Sonubait brands.
Being aware of the Prestons brand coming to market, and immediately understanding W.C. Bradley/Zebco's strategy of further building their global presence in the fishing tackle market, we were well placed to help the group seize the opportunity to acquire Prestons.
We provided full advisory bid support to W.C. Bradley/Zebco, acting as lead adviser and undertaking due diligence on the target company. Fully utilising our prior experience of advising on the sale of a similar business, and with a close relationship with Zebco's management team, we were able to effectively manage the negotiations throughout the transaction, overcoming the key financial and commercial issues. Understanding who the potential competing buyers were and their likely approaches, assisted the team to position W.C. Bradley's as the preferred competitive bid during the process.
Grant Thornton's cross-border and sector experience was crucial in advising us as an overseas company making our first acquisition in the UK. Their knowledge of both US and UK corporate finance practices were vital, especially when commercial negotiations reached the most sensitive and critical of stages. This ultimately allowed for a smooth and successful transaction.
Jeff Pontius CEO, Zebco Brands
