Victoria PLC (AIM:VCP) - another week, another acquisition and up goes the gearing!
The AIM quoted carpet manufacturer which we commented on recently has announced the acquisition of an Australian carpet manufacturer. This is Victoria's fourth acquisition in the last year and a half and makes it the 2nd largest carpet manufacturer in Australia. We remain fearful of the growing debt burden and the forecasts, notably in respect of cash generation, simply don’t appear to be realistic to us!
The Group has acquired Quest Carpet Manufacturers Pty Limited and Quest Carpet Manufacturers Unit Trust, for an initial cash consideration of approximately A$24.5m (£11.5m) and deferred cash consideration of A$10.5m (£4.9m) payable in instalments over 3 years. The total consideration represents a multiple of a little under 5 times Quest’s normalised EBITDA for the year ended 30 June 2015. Operating from facilities in Dandenong (near Melbourne), Australia and employing a workforce of more than 200 people, Quest designs, sells and distributes premium quality carpets across Australia and New Zealand. All key senior management of Quest will remain with the business…