RAC expands partnership to accelerate next phase of digital and data enabled growth


06 SEP 2021

RAC BOND CO PLC

(a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales with registered no. 10084638)
(the "Issuer")

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014.

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION TO ANY U.S. PERSON (AS DEFINED BELOW) OR IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, GUAM, AMERICAN SAMOA, WAKE ISLAND AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) (together, the United States) OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

 

6 September 2021

 

RAC expands partnership to accelerate next phase of digital and data enabled growth

RAC today announced that Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, has entered into an agreement to become a co-shareholder alongside RAC’s longstanding shareholders, GIC and CVC Strategic Opportunities I, a longer term investment fund managed by CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”).

RAC is the UK’s leading breakdown assistance provider delivering Complete Peace Of Mind to approximately 13 million personal and business members. Headquartered in Birmingham and employing over 4,000 colleagues nationwide, RAC has been at the forefront of UK motoring for over 120 years and provides a differentiated range of driving and mobility-related services including breakdown assistance and insurance products.

GIC and CVC have been major shareholders in RAC since 2014 and 2016 respectively, and will remain so alongside Silver Lake. Under GIC and CVC’s ownership, RAC has become the UK’s #1 breakdown assistance provider, adding nearly 4 million members since 2016 and growing EBITDA at a 7% CAGR to £249 million for the 12 months ended 30 June 2021.

Silver Lake brings unparalleled technology expertise, skills and relationships to RAC. Alongside GIC and CVC, Silver Lake plans to support RAC in its goal of further improving its digital capabilities, and leveraging its wealth of data to provide even more innovative products and services for RAC members and partners to accelerate RAC’s growth.

Dave Hobday, CEO of RAC said: “We have a strong and sustainable track record of growth across our member and corporate partner base. A history of investment over many decades, including our unique EV roadside charging capability and MyRAC, our digital app and subscription platform, means we are perfectly positioned at the heart of motoring, driving and mobility services. With these foundations in place, and with Silver Lake, as one of the most respected leaders in technology now sitting alongside CVC and GIC, we have a fantastic opportunity to accelerate our investment trajectory and provide more digitally enabled products, while continuing to deliver an even better service to our breakdown and insurance members. I am really excited to welcome Silver Lake to the RAC family, and very much look forward to the next stage of our journey together.”

Simon Patterson, Silver Lake Managing Director and Co-Head of EMEA said: “RAC is a strong brand, and the company has been known for a long time for its quality of service and focus on the customer.  CEO Dave Hobday and his team have adopted an ambitious plan to invest in digital technologies to further improve the offering and relationships with customers, and we look forward to assisting them implement it.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in late Q4 2021. BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisers, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as legal advisor, to RAC. J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor and Baker McKenzie as legal advisor to Silver Lake.

 

Contacts

For RAC:

Investor enquiries; Bruce Claassen, Group Finance Director, [email protected]

Media enquiries; Rod Dennis, Senior Press Officer, [email protected]

 

For Silver Lake:

Jess Gill, Edelman Smithfield, [email protected] , +44 (0)7980 684 247

 

For GIC:

Katy Conrad, Vice President Corporate Communications, [email protected] , +1 727 510 9831

Mah Lay Choon, Head Corporate Communications [email protected] , +65 98389425

 

For CVC Capital Partners:

Nick Board, Vice President Communications, [email protected] , +44 (0) 207 420 4240

 

About RAC

The RAC, an iconic UK brand, provides complete peace of mind to nearly 13 million UK private and business drivers, whatever their motoring needs. As well as its premium nationwide breakdown assistance service – with an expert branded patrol workforce attending more than two million breakdowns every year – it offers a wide range of market-leading products across insurance, legal services, vehicle inspections and service, maintenance and repair. The RAC is also at the forefront in helping drivers make the switch to electric vehicles and leads in the development of new solutions for businesses and OEMs, partnering with the best in the motoring and mobility space. For more information, please visit rac.co.uk.

 

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $88 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies collectively generate more than $221 billion of revenue annually and employ more than 526,000 people globally. For more information about Silver Lake and its portfolio, please visit silverlake.com.

 

About GIC

GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to secure Singapore’s financial future. As the manager of Singapore’s foreign reserves, GIC takes a long-term, disciplined approach to investing, and is uniquely positioned across a wide range of asset classes and active strategies globally. These include equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure. GIC’s long-term approach, multi-asset capabilities, and global connectivity enable it to be an investor of choice. GIC seeks to add meaningful value to its investments. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC has a global talent force of over 1,800 people in 10 key financial cities and investments in over 40 countries. For more information, please visit gic.com or follow GIC on LinkedIn.

About CVC Capital Partners

CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm, founded in 1981, with a network of 24 offices throughout Europe, Asia and the US, with approximately US$115 billion of assets under management. The CVC Strategic Opportunities platform was established in 2014 in response to growing demand from large investors to be able to invest longer term in stable, high-quality businesses. The platform provides partnership capital to make control, co-control and minority investments in companies with a longer term return profile and secure capital structures. For further information please visit www.cvc.com/private-equity/strategic-opportunities

 

This announcement has been issued through the Companies Announcement Service of the Irish Stock Exchange

Who we are

For more than 120 years, the RAC has been at the forefront of developing motoring solutions. Today, you can trust the RAC for complete peace of mind, whatever your driving needs.

Discover our history

The RAC has been consistently at the forefront in assisting UK drivers. Take a look at a snapshot of our history so far, beginning in 1897.

Corporate responsibility

The RAC has embedded Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) throughout the business, with a continued focus on enhancing road safety, improving fuel efficiencies and in developing innovative new products and services for members.