Doughty Hanson Acquires Photographics Group

After hitting the headlines last autumn with its $2.5 billion fund, early this spring Doughty Hanson announced an GBP85 million (ecu 130 million) buyout of photographic products manufacturer Ilford Imaging from International Paper of the US.

Ilford, which dates back to the turn of the century, is the world’s last surviving manufacturer of black and white photographic products and is also building a presence in leading-edge digital imaging products and services. The company made profits of GBP6.6 million on sales of nearly GBP100 million in 1996 and employs around 1,800 people worldwide.

Doughty Hanson is reported to have invested around GBP32 million and owns all the company’s equity save for the small percentage in the hands of management. UBS arranged a term debt and revolving credit package for the transaction, co-underwriting it with Bank of Scotland.