Bodycote, a Macclesfield-based FTSE 250 industrial firm, is to be acquired by the US buyout firm Veritas. The deal is valued at £1.65bn, or 940p per share, and £1.85bn including debt.
Bodycote, which operates 130 sites across 22 countries and employs 4,000 people, describes itself as the world’s largest service provider of heat treatment and specialist metallurgical technologies. Its shares closed at 955p, suggesting the market considers a rival bid from European private equity firm CVC a possibility.
According to an analyst at investment bank RBC, the 940p valuation is not considered particularly generous, being only 25% above the pre-bid level and with an implied earnings valuation in line with Bodycote’s 10-year average.
Bodycote's directors stated that their medium-term strategy, adopted in late 2024, was progressing well, aiming for efficiencies and a shift towards aerospace and defence sectors. However, the company also cited increasing structural challenges in certain automotive and industrial markets, alongside macroeconomic uncertainties, as risks to its financial targets.