Private equity firm Endless to acquire Menzies Distribution Limited in £74.5m deal

Endless LLP, the Leeds-based mid-market private equity investor, has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Menzies Distribution Limited and all associated subsidiaries (‘MDL’) from John Menzies plc.

The total enterprise value for the acquisition will be £74.5m.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, MDL operates one of the largest overnight logistics networks in the UK, providing final mile delivery for over 100 million delivery units each year, serving customers in the press, travel and third-party logistics sectors.

Employing approximately 3,700 people across 54 sites throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the business distributes over 6.5 million newspapers and magazines each day.

Endless said that the acquisition of MDL will “enable the business to build on its successful growth and diversification strategy, working in long-term partnership with publishers to secure a sustainable route to market for their product and further support building and harnessing MDL’s UK network to partner with national parcel carriers and become a provider of choice to the retail sector.”

A multi-disciplinary team at Walker Morris, led by corporate partner Debbie Jackson, advised Endless on the conditional agreement.

Debbie Jackson commented: “This acquisition will create a strong opportunity for Endless to develop this leading logistics business and reinforces their reputation for successfully carving out businesses from corporate sellers.

“Endless is a longstanding client of the Firm and the number of successful transactions we have achieved together is testament to our focus on building good working relationships. These relationships are key in being able to provide Endless with sound commercially focussed advice.”

The transaction is subject to the approval of the shareholders of John Menzies plc and approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Ireland.