Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) is back on the public markets. In a sense, it never really went away: three years ago, former parent company Stobart Group (STOB) sold a 51 per cent stake in the truck company to private asset manager DBAY, and held on to the rest. ESL re-joined Aim on 25 April, raising £122m of new money in a deal that gave the company a £573m market capitalisation, equivalent to 160p a share. DBAY and Stobart reduced their shareholding to 30 per cent in the process.
It’s always important for investors to carefully analyse what has happened to companies that have passed through multiple ownerships. In the past three years, ESL has expanded its fleet and taken on some debt in the process. As chief executive Alex Laffey explained to us, reducing the balance sheet leverage is the primary focus of the Aim listing; indeed, fundraising proceeds will be used to repay around £39m of bank debt and £35m of shareholder loans. A further £45m has been set aside to acquire supply chain management business iForce, giving ESL further ballast in the fast-growing e-commerce logistics market.