LONDON: Renew Holdings (AIM: RNWH) wholly owned subsidiary, Excalon Holdings Limited has acquired Porter Brothers Holdings Limited, parent company of PBU (UK) Ltd (PBU) for a total consideration of up to £50 million on a cash and debt free basis.

PBU is a specialist provider of extra high voltage cabling and directional drilling engineering services to the energy distribution market, according to an announcement.

This acquisition further enhances Renew’s delivery capabilities across the electricity transmission and distribution network, adding highly specialist engineering services and enabling the Group to address a broader range of opportunities in this structurally growing market.

Together with the recent acquisitions of Emerald Power, Electricity Distribution Engineering Services and PWR-X businesses, Excalon Holdings has developed and built the expertise to deliver a full turnkey solution for clients, from design through to all stages of delivery. This strengthens Renew’s position in the power transmission and distribution market, by enabling the Group to access a larger share of the c.£50bn-£60bn investment that is committed across the RIIO-ED2 and ET3 control periods and beyond.

The initial cash consideration of £31.1m has been funded from the Group’s existing banking facilities and is based upon a sustainable EBIT of £3.9m and EBITDA of £5.5m. The additional cash consideration of up to £18.9m is conditional upon the vendors achieving specific profit targets over a three-year period.

The Acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing. Following the Acquisition, the Group retains a strong balance sheet and continues to evaluate a pipeline of further earnings-accretive acquisitions, in line with its disciplined compounding strategy.

Paul Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Renew, commented: “This acquisition represents an excellent strategic fit for the Group, adding complementary specialist capabilities to our already well-established position in the regulated energy market. Our enhanced capabilities leave us strongly positioned to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities presented by the unprecedented levels of investment in the UK’s electricity transmission and distribution networks.

“PBU is a company we already know very well, I am delighted to welcome their highly regarded teams into the Renew family and I look forward to updating the market on their integration into the Group in due course.”