CES Power makes large European acquisition

In a deal worth over £23M, our client, CES Global LLC, acquired the power generator businesses ABird and APEX Generators from Manchester's HSS Hire Group in March 2024.

US-based CES are a global provider of temporary event power generation, power distribution, and HVAC for festivals, film & broadcast, major events, and industrial projects. CES annually supplies power generators for 4000+ events, including major music festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and prestigious sporting events such as the PGA Tour and Formula One.

CES has seen robust organic growth alongside strategic mergers and acquisitions, improving its overall global offering. With 11 total acquisitions over the company's history (eight based in the US) CES has its sights set on further European expansion.

Like many businesses with ambitions to scale overseas through acquisition, CES need reliable and experienced legal advisors to lead the process.

Philip Pontius, Chief Financial Officer, reached out to us to assist with this latest European target, following a recommendation after we acted in a separate successful acquisition.

Our Corporate, Commercial Property and Commercial teams assisted CES with all the fundamentals of the acquisition, ensuring a seamless transaction within a tight timeframe of seven weeks. We advised on Heads of Terms, all aspects of due diligence, preparing the share purchase agreement, commercial property, and various commercial agreements. Our Employment team also assisted CES with employment contracts to facilitate the takeover of employees.

As part of their acquisition, CES entered into commercial agreement for the shared use of power generators, consequently expanding CES's fleet with generators from an additional nine locations.

Leading the acquisition were Corporate Partners Matt Shakesheff and Nikki Reid, alongside Corporate Associate Callum Giliker, Senior Commercial Property Solicitor Rachel Jones, and Senior Commercial Solicitor Emily Sandler.

Commenting on his experience, Philip said:

Working with Matt and the team on our recent acquisition was a game-changer. We knew our timeframe of just 7 weeks would be challenging, especially considering the property and commercial aspects involved. However, the expertise and efficiency of everyone involved exceeded our expectations.

It's important to get the right team together for an acquisition. You need experts in legal, accounting, due diligence, and transition management. I prefer to partner with companies who have experience in the industry, know the geographic area well, and understand the regulations.

I’ve worked with numerous law firms, including some top 100 firms in the past, but the quality of service we received from Harper James, coupled with their competitive pricing, truly sets them apart.

CES signed up to our On-Demand Plan, a fully account managed legal support service giving businesses priority access to highly experienced solicitors at a budget set by them.

With the increasing prevalence of events and tours, CES are keen to expand further into diverse regions, delivering bundled solutions, integrating technology, software and sustainability initiatives across the globe.