According to a Sky News report, US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is rumoured to be in discussions for a £2.5bn buyout and merger of FM providers OCS and Atalian Servest.
CD&R, which purchased supermarket chain Morrisons in 2021, is reported to be in talks to buy significant stakes in both companies, which employ almost 200,000 people between them worldwide. Combining the two companies would create a huge player in the facilities management market.
Although the takeovers aren’t certain, an insider claims that ‘CD&R was in detailed talks with both companies, and that it was conceivable that it could reach an agreement with one or both within weeks’.
Atalian Servest is a UK-based FM service provider which is part of Atalian, one of the world’s largest FM providers, with a turnover of almost €3bn and over 131,000 employees across 36 countries. The company offers everything from cleaning and catering to building services and waste management. OCS Group, founded in 1900 and headquartered in Crawley, Surrey, has over 68,000 employees serving 20,000 global clients.
