Alantra advised the shareholders of Williams Medical Supplies, the UK’s leading supplier of medical supplies and services to UK healthcare providers, on the sale of the business to DCC Plc, in a deal valued at £45 million

May 2014

Sell-side advisory

Value £45 million

Alantra has advised the shareholders of Williams Medical Supplies, the UK’s leading supplier of medical supplies and services to UK healthcare providers, on the sale of the business to DCC Plc, in a deal valued at £45 million. The transaction provides a successful exit for ISIS Equity Partners which invested in Williams as part of a management buy-out (MBO) in 2007.

Williams supplies a wide range of own and third party branded products – medical equipment, consumables and pharmaceuticals – to a very broad customer base of c.10,000 GP practices, as well as healthcare providers in the community care and domiciliary care sectors. The business also provides a range of services including field based testing and calibration and repair and maintenance of equipment. The Williams business model is based on telesales, e-commerce, product catalogues and key account management, supported by high quality IT systems and cost effective logistics.

DCC Plc is a FTSE 250 sales, marketing and distribution business operating in the Energy, Environmental, Technology, Healthcare and Food & Drink sectors. Within the Healthcare sector, DCC already has excellent market coverage in Britain and Ireland in the secondary care (hospital) and retail pharmacy channels. The acquisition of Williams, with its market leading position in primary care and developing positions in community care and domiciliary care, secures for DCC the most comprehensive sales and distribution network in the British and Irish healthcare markets. Leveraging this expanded market coverage is expected to provide near term synergy opportunities, as well as strengthening the platform for further growth.