10 deals of HMT – the disposal of Swift Worldwide
To celebrate its 25th anniversary of leading corporate finance deals, HMT is reminiscing on 10 notable transactions from its archives. Having completed over 500 deals, producing a shortlist of 10 has not been easy but advising on the disposal of Swift Worldwide Resources to US buyer Wellspring is one of our biggest deals, and as such has certainly made the list.
The relationship with Swift dated back to 2006, when partner Ian Barton advised private equity investor Gresham on its investment in Swift. By 2012, following a period of oil price fluctuations, a sale was planned but Swift’s management team needed support in the process while allowing it to continue running the business.
Working with CFO James Dymott and Gresham, Barton supported the team through the disposal and also on a re-investment alongside Wellspring in a secondary buyout.
With Swift’s management team spread around the globe, liaising across the time zones while continuing to be responsive was critical to ensuring a successful outcome. With a deal value in excess of £100 million the disposal of Swift remains one of the biggest deals HMT has advised on in its 25 year history.
Dymott noted: “We worked with Ian and HMT over the course of 12 months on this complicated deal, and his advice was excellent and always timely and well-constructed. Ian worked proactively with all our advisers and equity partners to deal with issues expeditiously, which helped us achieve the outcome we did.”
Swift established itself as one of the global leaders in its market and in 2016 merged with AirEnergi, to become a $1 billion turnover global workforce solutions provider based in over 50 locations rebranded as AirSwift.
Nominations are open for this year's Thames Valley Deals Awards
Enter here - https://thamesvalleydealsawards.co.uk/award-categories/
