MidOcean Partners, the middle market private equity firm with offices in New York and London announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bezier Holdings Limited (“bezier”) from funds managed by Electra Partners Limited for £77 million, through a new Company called bezier Acquisitions Limited. As part of the transaction Electra Investment Trust PLC, managed by Electra Partners, will hold a minority interest in the new company. bezier is the leading UK-based provider of Point of Purchase (“POP”) marketing materials serving a blue chip customer base of retailers and branded goods manufacturers.

bezier is one of Europe’s largest retail media specialists and the UK’s biggest POP specialist. The Company provides retail media solutions including POP, marketing and promotional material and in-store media, and its retail solutions encompass everything from research and design of retail media through to production and implementation. bezier works with a broad portfolio of blue chip brands and retailers including ASDA, Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd, Superdrug, Homebase, Boots, Honda and First Choice.

Mark Shaw, who becomes Chief Executive of bezier on completion said: “This is a fantastic outcome for bezier. MidOcean’s investment is recognition of our incredible potential and recent achievements in driving the business forward, and we look forward to drawing on MidOcean’s expertise in the retail and consumer sectors in further developing the business. We will continue to serve our customers at the highest level, and our ambitious targets for continued growth and expansion mean great new opportunities for the Company.”

Graham Thomas, a Managing Director of MidOcean said: “bezier is a highly attractive asset for MidOcean. We have identified POP as a critical component of below-the-line marketing spend, which is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and we are delighted to be partnering with Mark and his team to help them further develop the market leading platform they have already established.”

“Leveraging our existing portfolio, we have spent a lot of time looking at the trends in marketing spend and we expect that below-the-line spend will continue to grow faster than the market” said Graham Clempson, MidOcean’s European Managing Partner. “With its strong client base and ability to position itself as a partner to its customers, bezier is uniquely positioned to succeed in this highly attractive market.”

David Symondson, director of Electra Partners said: “bezier has reached an important milestone in its development with the appointment of a new Chief Executive, and the change of ownership. Under the leadership of Mark Shaw and MidOcean, the Company is well placed to grow its business and Electra is delighted to have a continuing involvement.

MidOcean was advised by Rothschild’s and Electra was advised by KPMG Corporate Finance. Linklaters acted as legal advisor to MidOcean and Ashurst acted as legal advisor to Electra Partners Limited. The Royal Bank of Scotland is providing debt financing.

bezier is Europe’s largest retail media provider working in partnership with a broad portfolio of major blue chip companies such as Asda, Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd, Superdrug, Boots, Homebase, Honda and First Choice. The group has turnover of over £60m and employs over 600 people across eight sites in Wakefield, Bristol, Poole and London.

MidOcean Partners is a premier private equity firm focused on the middle market. Based in New York and London, MidOcean is committed to investing in high quality companies with stable market positions and opportunities for growth in the United States and Europe. Targeted sectors include consumer and leisure, media and communications, business and financial services and industrials. MidOcean utilizes a broad foundation of expertise in its focus industries and its transatlantic platform to create value for its investors and partners.

Electra Partners is an independent private equity fund management group with £800 million under management. Based in London, Electra Partners has accumulated considerable expertise and built a strong track record in private equity investments. The team has managed the assets of Electra Investment Trust for more than fifteen years, as well as a number of other funds during that time.