MACCLESFIELD — US private equity firm Veritas agreed to acquire Bodycote, taking the Macclesfield-based heat treatment company private. The takeover value is £1.84bn including debt.

The offer price is 940p per share, which represents a 25% premium above the pre-bid share price. Bodycote shares closed at 955p following the announcement.

Bodycote provides heat treatment and specialist metallurgical technologies through a network of 130 sites across 22 countries. The company employs 4,000 people and has maintained a 38-year record of growing or maintaining its dividend.

Veritas stated that Bodycote will benefit from enhanced flexibility and long-term perspective as a private company. This assessment contrasts with market analysis regarding the financial terms of the deal.

An RBC analyst stated that the valuation does not appear particularly generous on a take-out basis. CVC, a European private equity firm, was a rival bidder for Bodycote during the process.

Bodycote adopted an 'optimise, perform, grow' strategy in late 2024. As part of its recent financial activities, the company conducted £120m of share buy-backs.

Bodycote's 2025 financial year revenue was £727.1 million with adjusted EBITDA of £184.7 million, according to its 2025 annual report. The acquisition valuation implies a fully diluted share capital value of £1,640 million and an enterprise value of £1,840 million for Bodycote.

Why It Matters

Bodycote has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1972, marking the end of more than five decades as a public entity. The total value of deals removing firms from the London Stock Exchange has passed $100bn this year.

A Peel Hunt report calculated more than 150 bids for UK companies with a market value of more than £100m since the start of 2023. This transaction contributes to a broader pattern of private equity activity targeting established industrial firms in the United Kingdom.

What's New

Veritas stated that Bodycote will benefit from enhanced flexibility and long-term perspective as a private company. The Cash Consideration implies a valuation for the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Bodycote of approximately £1,640 million on a fully diluted basis, and an enterprise value of approximately £1,840 million.

Bodycote has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1972. Bodycote's 2025 financial year revenue was £727.1 million with adjusted EBITDA of £184.7 million, according to its 2025 annual report.

The acquisition valuation implies a fully diluted share capital value of £1,640 million and an enterprise value of £1,840 million for Bodycote. The total value of deals removing firms from the London Stock Exchange has passed $100bn this year.

The takeover value is £1.84bn including debt.