Alantra advised the shareholders of Routeco Group Holdings Limited, the largest distributor of industrial automation and control products in the UK, on the sale of the business to Sonepar SA of France

Sep 2014

Sell-side advisory

Alantra has advised the shareholders of Routeco Group Holdings Limited, the largest distributor of industrial automation and control products in the UK, on the sale of the business to Sonepar SA of France. The deal provides a full exit for the founding shareholders whilst the management team shareholders will retain a stake and manage the business as a separate unit within Sonepar Northern Europe.

Routeco was founded in 1978 and has been a Rockwell Automation authorised distributor since 1992. It is based in Milton Keynes, has 13 branches across the UK and also has operations in Austria and the Netherlands.

Sonepar is an independent privately-owned company and a global market leader in the B2B distribution of electrical products and related services. It serves its customers in 41 countries and has a total turnover of more than €16 billion. The acquisition of Routeco furthers Sonepar’s strategy of geographic expansion as well as strengthening its position in the important industrial automation market.