TECH BYTES
BULGIN ACQUISITION
A hidden gem of the Cambridge tech cluster is under new ownership after being snapped up in an acquisition worth in excess of £100 million. Bulgin, which was founded in 1923 and makes components for machines that operate in harsh environments, has been acquired by private equity firm Equistone, which has purchased the company from previous owner Elektron Technology in a deal with an enterprise value of £105m. Specialising in connectors and related technologies, Bulgin works across sectors including industrials, transport and infrastructure and medical technology. It has 92,000 users of its products around the world. Its current management team will remain in place, led by John Wilson, who will transition from his current post of executive chairman to become the company’s CEO. The management team has also taken a minority stake in Bulgin alongside Equistone. Paul Harper, partner at Equistone Partners Europe, said: “Manufacturing is a sector in which Equistone has extensive experience of investing in high-quality, mid-market businesses. In Bulgin, we are pleased to be backing
a market-leading manufacturer with a global reputation for high-performance engineered component solutions used in a range of harsh-environment applications. We look forward to working with John and his team, to build on their fantastic track record of developing Bulgin’s product range and global footprint.” Based at the Alec Broers building on the West Cambridge site, Bulgin may not be the highest profile company in the city, but boasts annual turnover of around £30m. Recent years have seen it successfully develop new cutting-edge fibre and sensing products for its portfolio. Wilson said: “Bulgin has transformed itself in recent years from a component manufacturer to a leading technology solutions provider with attractive margins relative to the wider sector. With its experience of backing management teams in unlocking growth potential, Equistone is the right partner to support this next stage of development. Our focus will remain on providing our customers with the growing and high-quality range of connectivity solutions for which the business is known globally.”
IMAGE BY VUB/BRUBOTICS
in their utilisation. The University of Cambridge researchers are working with colleagues in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium on SHERO, which is being led by the University of Brussels.
We will be using machine learning to work on the modelling and integration of these self-healing materials to include self-healing actuators and sensors"
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ISSUE 03
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