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Fieldfisher has advised AIM-listed Restore plc on its acquisition of Wolverhampton-headquartered EDM Group, a leading B2B outsourcer for organisations in the financial, insurance, healthcare and automotive sectors requiring information risk management and digital transformation.
The £61 million acquisition is transformational Restore's digital business and consistent with the group's strategic priorities to expand its business through substantial acquisitions, underpinned by organic growth.EDM operates throughout the UK and provides records information management, digitisation, digital mailrooms and digital automation solutions to its customers.
Restore also announced a placing to raise approximately £40 million before expenses to reduce the group’s debt and to fund working capital and general corporate purposes.
The Fieldfisher team advising Restore was led by Manchester corporate partner, David Bowcock, assisted by Adam Jones, Julia Venckute and Andy Pirie (corporate); Charlotte Round and Danny O'Brien (banking), Martin Bloor, Daniel Banks and Jessica Dick (real estate), Alex Watson and Richard Branson (employment); Andrew Prowse (tax); John Cassels (regulatory); and Amy Reynolds (intellectual property).
Commenting on the deal, David Bowcock said:
"We are pleased to have assisted Restore on yet another significant acquisition as it continues to expand its footprint in record management.
"The need to convert physical records to digital format remains a business critical issue in many sectors, even more so since the pandemic, and we continue to support Restore in its strategy to consolidate document management service providers within the digital arm of its business.
"2021 has so far been extremely busy for M&A and fundraisings by listed clients looking to capitalise on the Covid-19 economic recovery."
Charles Bligh, Chief Executive of Restore, commented:
"I am delighted with the acquisition of the EDM UK business and the value this will create for shareholders. Bringing EDM’s scale and capabilities together with ours will deliver even better offerings for customers and build an even stronger UK player in the management of physical and digital data.
"This acquisition is in line with the growth strategy of the business outlined over the last two years, which is to grow our Record Management business and to enhance the product portfolio and market share in Restore Digital."