Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SHS Group’s hot deal for fire lighter maker
BELFAST’S SHS Group has stoked the mergers and acquisition market by buying top UK fire lighters producer Standard Brands.
It owns Zip and Sunny Jim which SHS will add to its portfolio of branded products including Maguire and Paterson matches, Shloer, WKD, Merrydown Cider and Bottlegreen.
The company wouldn’t reveal the price of the deal that still needs to be cleared by the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
Standard Brands employs 110 people at a sales office in Surrey and manufacturing plant in Co Louth and the acquisition will take the SHS Group staff total to 880.
Its chief executive Elaine Birchall said the deal made sense.
She added: “Standard Brands complements our portfolio, consolidating our position in core markets and extending our brand footprint abroad.
“We look forward to working with Terry and his team across our combined categories and geographies.”
Standard Brands’ Terry Coates will retain day-today control.
He said: “We are delighted to be joining the SHS Group, which is committed to safeguarding the heritage of our business and market-leading products. It is an exciting time for Standard Brands and we look forward to working with the SHS management team to capitalise on the many
growth opportunities we now have.” As well as owning brands, SHS also supplies own-label herbs and spices to retailers across the UK and Ireland and distributes goods such as Mars Drinks, Ryvita, Jeyes and Dettol.
Belfast legal firm Carson Mcdowell provided advice to the new owner on the acquisition.
Richard Gray, partner and joint head of corporate at the company, said: “Today’s announcement is an example of the SHS Group’s drive to succeed and we are delighted to have advised the company in relation to this deal. “Contracts for the transaction have been exchanged, with completion of the transaction subject to clearance by the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.”
The deal consolidates core markets and extends our brand abroad