BDA advises Navis on sale of Trio to Weir Group for US$238m

Business Development Asia (“BDA”) is pleased to announce that its clients, Navis Capital Partners and MES Industrial Holdings, have entered into an agreement to sell Trio Engineered Products (“Trio”) to Weir Group PLC (“Weir”), the UK-based diversified engineering company, for an enterprise value of US$220m.

Based in Shanghai, China, Trio is an emerging global provider of crushing, screening, washing and conveying equipment for the mining, aggregate, recycling and mineral industries. The acquisition of Trio will build upon Weir’s existing capabilities in the comminution segment, allowing it to expand its product and service offering, leverage Trio’s cost-effective manufacturing platform and exploit cross-selling opportunities in the sand and aggregates sector.

BDA acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Navis and MES on the transaction. With a total consideration of US$238m, the sale is the largest control exit by a financial sponsor in China in 2014 to date.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions and is anticipated to take place before the end of October 2014.

Mr Chow Yin Tan, a Senior Partner at Navis in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, said: “Trio was our first standalone investment in China, and the acquisition was subject to intense internal debate as it was made so soon after the onset of the global financial crisis. We were privileged to work with an outstanding group of diverse and highly committed entrepreneurs who demanded that Navis contribute across several different geographies. Our ability to understand and bridge both Western and Chinese cultures helped us to gain the trust and commitment of our partners.”

Mike Burke, CEO of Trio, commented: “This agreement is strategically compelling for Trio, allowing the Company to leverage Weir’s market-leading service centre network to accelerate growth and better serve our customers’ aftermarket needs on a truly global basis.”

Keith Cochrane, CEO of Weir, added: “This agreement will allow Weir Minerals to build upon its successful comminution strategy. We’ll use our Group’s unrivalled global capability to promote Trio’s range of complementary products, extending our addressable market and offering our mining customers a wider range of highly engineered equipment and services. Trio’s established manufacturing capability and its scale and presence in aggregates markets also provides a further platform for growth.”

Charles Maynard, one of BDA’s founding partners added: “We are delighted with the result and have strong faith that Weir and Trio’s management team will continue to build on the excellent growth that Navis and Trio’s management team have achieved over the past five years.”

About Trio
Founded in 1998, Trio designs and manufactures a range of crushers, screens, feeders, washers and material handling solutions for the aggregates and minerals markets. Trio provides engineered solutions for heavy duty applications utilising its broad range of robust equipment and has developed a strong position in Chinese mining and US aggregates markets. The company employs around 700 people across its operations in China and the United States. http://www.trioproducts.com/

About Weir Group PLC
Founded in 1871, Weir is a leading global engineering solutions provider focused on designing, manufacturing and supplying innovative products and expert engineering solutions. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and one of the fastest growing members of the FTSE 100 index, Weir employs over 15,000 employees spanning 70 countries through more than 200 manufacturing and service facilities. The Group recorded revenues of GBP2.4bn in 2013. http://www.weir.co.uk/

About Navis Capital Partners
Founded in 1998, Navis focuses on private and public equity investments in Southeast Asia. Navis contributes both capital and management expertise to a limited number of well-positioned companies with the objective of directing strategic, operational and financial improvements. Navis has one of the largest private equity professional teams in Asia, comprising 60 individuals, supported by 30 administrative staff, in seven offices across the region. Navis manages over US$4bn in equity capital and has a long and proven track record in Asian private equity, with 60 control transactions completed since its establishment in 1998. http://www.naviscapital.com/

About BDA
Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) is a leader in cross-border investment banking. BDA advises on M&A, capital raising, and restructuring. BDA has been consistently owned and managed by the same team since 1996. It has a track record of providing independent advice to blue-chip corporate and financial sponsor clients from North America, Europe and Asia. BDA was named Investment Banking Firm of the Year at the ACG Champion’s Awards in 2014. It is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Bahrain, Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. BDA formed a partnership with William Blair & Company in 2011. BDA carries out its US securities business through BDA Advisors Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of FINRA and SIPC. www.bdapartners.com

For more information regarding this transaction, please contact Charles Maynard in Beijing at +86 10-5737-9028 or Jason Song in Shanghai at +86 21-5407-5580