Franklin’s Admiral Acquisition Buying Acuren for $1.85 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Admiral Acquisition Ltd., a vehicle started by serial dealmaker Martin Franklin, has agreed to buy industrial-services provider ASP Acuren Holdings Inc. for $1.85 billion in the largest blank-check deal this year.  Admiral is acquiring the business from New York-based private equity firm American Securities, according to a statement Wednesday. Admiral’s funding for the purchase will include $560 million in cash and the proceeds of a $312 million private placement, among other sources. 

The pact marks the largest deal this year involving a company akin to a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, the once-hot vehicle for taking companies public that’s waned in popularity since their peak three years ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Admiral raised $550 million in 2023, pushing ahead with a London listing even after the SPAC bubble burst. Admiral isn’t a US-style SPAC, since it doesn’t have free shares issued to the founders at the completion of a transaction. 

Franklin, co-founder of the Jarden Corp., was a pioneer in using blank-check companies, raising money for acquisitions as early as 2006 and taking companies public, including Nomad Foods Ltd. Acuren provides testing, engineering and lab-testing services to industrial end markets.  After the deal closes, Admiral will delist from the London Stock Exchange and apply to list on the New York Stock Exchange.