ISS A/S
Inside information

ISS acquires leading US food services company

Copenhagen, 2017-04-04 17:59 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 
                                                                      No. 6/2017
                                                                                

ISS strengthens its integrated facility services credentials with key account
customers in North America by acquiring Guckenheimer, a leading food services
company. 


  -- ISS has today agreed to buy the California based catering company
     Guckenheimer
  -- Annual revenue of approximately DKK 2,300 million (USD 337 million1) and
     approximately 3,200 employees in 33 US states
  -- Organic compound annual growth between FY 2014 and FY 2016 of approximately
     14% with EBITA margin improvement
  -- Guckenheimer’s operating model is capital light and strongly cash
     generative, consistent with ISS
  -- Purchase price (on a debt and cash free basis) of DKK 1,549 million (USD
     225 million) corresponding to a multiple of 15.9x EBITA2 pre-synergies and
     approximately 9x EBITA3 when expected synergies are fully realised in 2018
  -- The acquisition will be financed from ISS’ existing credit facilities  and
     is expected to deliver returns in excess of ISS’ cost of capital in 2018
  -- The acquisition will not impact the previously announced 2017 outlook of
     ISS
  -- The acquisition is subject to certain conditions precedent including
     anti-trust clearance and is expected to close in Q2 2017

ISS (ISS.CO, ISS DC, ISSDY), a global leading facility services provider, today
agreed to acquire leading US food services company Guckenheimer, based in
California, USA. 

Through this acquisition ISS will significantly enhance its integrated facility
services offering to key account customers in the strategically important North
American market. Guckenheimer will also enhance ISS’ competitiveness in winning
new business from multinational customers with material activities in North
America. Guckenheimer is known as a leading innovator within food service, and
it will materially strengthen the global catering excellence of ISS. Moreover,
Guckenheimer has a highly attractive list of blue-chip, key account customers
which offer potential for growth via increased geographic and service breadth. 

Guckenheimer’s primary focus is the on-site preparation of appealing and
freshly prepared food for employees, typically located at the headquarter
buildings of key accounts. Guckenheimer supports their customers’ purpose by
ensuring that the restaurant experience at these locations is “Food to go to
work for”; an experience which supports key accounts in offering a great place
to work and in winning the war for talent. 


Jeff Gravenhorst, ISS Group CEO, said:

“I am delighted that we have reached an agreement with the owners of
Guckenheimer, including chairman and co-founder Jeanie Ritchie. ISS has had a
long-stated ambition of acquiring a North American catering business, and this
process demonstrates our patience and discipline in selecting the right asset.
Both companies have key account focus, serving the same industry segments and
sharing culture and values. Together with Guckenheimer, we are now in a
stronger position to deliver integrated facility services in North America.
Furthermore, the acquisition will improve our competitiveness in international
commercial opportunities where North America is in scope.” 


Dan Ryan, Regional CEO, ISS Americas, said:

“This acquisition will immediately create a strong food services platform with
the right size, strategic intersections, capabilities and innovative concepts
to effectively complement our integrated facility services position in North
America. We grew double digits in 2016 and we have a clear ambition to continue
our strong growth in ISS North America. The acquisition will bring important
scale to our business, increasing our annual revenue by more than 50%. With
this acquisition we also take a huge step forward in strengthening our value
proposition.” 


Randall Boyd, CEO, Guckenheimer, said:

"The Ritchie family created a fantastic company. The combination with ISS today
allows the Guckenheimer legacy to continue and have a broader reach than ever
before. The clients, employees and shareholders are all winners in this
transaction. Our focus on people fits perfectly with the ISS culture. We can
now provide global solutions and expanded offerings. We have a very exciting
opportunity ahead of us.” 


The purchase price (on a debt and cash free basis) of DKK 1,549 million (USD
225 million) corresponds to a multiple of 15.9x EBITA and approximately 9x
EBITA, when expected synergies are fully realised in 2018. The acquisition will
not impact ISS’ previously communicated outlook for the financial year 2017.
The acquisition will be financed from ISS’ existing credit facilities and is
expected to lead to a short term increase of debt leverage (net debt / pro
forma adjusted EBITDA) of 0.2x. The acquisition is expected to be value
enhancing, with return on invested capital estimated to be in excess of ISS’
cost of capital in the first full year (2018). 

Guckenheimer was founded in 1963 by Stewart and Jeanie Ritchie, two Stanford
students looking for a new way to finance their student loans while improving
lunch options at the local cafeteria. Since then, Guckenheimer has grown within
the corporate dining world to become a leading food service company with an
annual revenue of approximately DKK 2,300 million and 3,200 employees in 33 US
states. 

In 2016, ISS had 14,103 employees in North America (USA & Canada) generating a
revenue of DKK 4,680 million equivalent to 6% of the global revenue of ISS. 

The acquisition is subject to certain conditions precedent including anti-trust
clearance and is expected to close in Q2 2017. 


1. Revenue for the twelve months to 31 December 2016
2. Based on Guckenheimer’s  EBITA for the twelve months to 31 December 2016
3. Implied multiple based on Guckenheimer’s projected 2018 EBITA including full
impact of estimated synergies 



For investor enquiries
Nicholas Ward, Head of Group Investor Relations, +45 3817 6251
Martin Kjær Hansen, Senior Investor Relations Manager, +45 3817 6431

For media enquiries
Kenth Kærhøg, Head of Group Communications, +45 3817 6205
Lena Stennicke, Global Media Relations Manager, +45 38 17 65 03

About ISS                                                                       
The ISS Group was founded in Copenhagen in 1901 and has grown to become one of  
 the world's leading Facility Services companies. ISS offers a wide range of    
 services such as: Cleaning, Catering, Security, property and Support Services  
 as well as Facility Management. Global revenue amounted to DKK 79.1 billion in 
 2016 and ISS has approximately 500,000 employees and activities in 74 countries
 across Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and Pacific, serving         
 thousands of both public and private sector customers. For more information,   
 visit www.issworld.com.                                                        
About Guckenheimer                                                              
Guckenheimer is a premier on-site corporate restaurant management and food      
 services company. Our clients include many of America’s most respected         
 corporations and institutions. For more than fifty years, our talented         
 Guckenheimer chefs have created delicious delicacies for America’s greatest    
 companies.  Our innovative menus are uniquely designed for each site, promoting
 creativity in our clients and our chefs alike. We select only the freshest     
 ingredients with the most extraordinary and authentic flavors. For more        
 information, visit www.guckenheimer.com.                                       

ISS A/S, ISIN DK0060542181, ISIN US4651472056
ISS Global A/S, ISIN XS1145526585, ISIN XS1330300341, ISIN XS1145526825