Ibstock plc (LON:IBST)) today announced the sale of the entire issued share capital of Glen-Gery, its US brick manufacturing business, to Brickworks Limited for an enterprise value of US$110 million on a debt free cash free basis. The value equates to over 8 times Glen-Gery’s last twelve months EBITDA to June 2018, as reported.
As part of the transaction Brickworks Limited will assume certain liabilities, including an associated pension liability, and the net cash inflow for the Group is expected to be approximately US$95 million, subject to any closing account adjustments. We expect the transaction to close in the coming days.
The proceeds received by the Group will be used to repay debt. As a result of the disposal, and in combination with our strong underlying cash generation, we expect our net debt to be around £50 million by the end of 2018. This disposal further strengthens the Group’s balance sheet and leaves us well positioned to invest to deliver long term growth as we focus on our core markets in the UK.
Ibstock Chief Executive Officer, Joe Hudson, commented:
“At the interim results in August we announced that we were undertaking a strategic review of certain aspects of our business, including our US operations, with a further update to be given at the full year results in March 2019.
“We have concluded that opportunities to grow the US business are not in line with our overall strategic objectives, and the decision was taken to dispose of these assets and refocus the Group on its core markets here in the UK. Following a competitive process, we believe that this is the best outcome for both Glen-Gery and Ibstock plc.
“I would like to thank our colleagues at Glen-Gery for their hard work and professionalism and we wish them the very best for the future.
“This divestment augments our strong underlying cashflow generation, leaving us with a strong balance sheet. Our capital allocation and shareholder return priorities remain unchanged, and we continue to assess both organic and inorganic investment options in the UK as we look to deliver long term growth.”
Trading Update
Ibstock is pleased to confirm that the previously announced enhanced maintenance program in its UK brick business is progressing well and the Group remains on course to deliver adjusted EBITDA of £121m to £125m for the year ended 31 December 2018 (which assumed a full year 2018 contribution from Glen-Gery of £11 million). In addition, the Group announces it has generated proceeds of £3.7m from a further sale of surplus land which, when combined with our previously announced property sale, results in a total EBITDA impact of £9.5 million for the year. This amount is excluded from our adjusted EBITDA guidance above.
Whilst the uncertainty around the ongoing negotiations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU persists, the market backdrop in the new build housing sector remains positive. We will provide a further trading update for the year ended 31 December 2018 on 17 January 2019 as planned.
