Gordons advises Vianet Group plc on £3.5m division sale

Wednesday 9th December 2015

Gordons has successfully advised Stockton-based Vianet Group plc on the £3.5m sale of its Vianet Fuel Solutions (VFS) division to Wayne Fueling Systems UK.

A team from the firm’s corporate department, led by Peter Barton, worked on the deal for the leading provider of real time monitoring systems, data management services, and actionable insights for the leisure and vending sectors.

Commenting on the sale, Vianet Group chairman, James Dickson, said: “Over the past two years we have made significant progress to establish a strong reputation for VFS in the UK forecourt sector and to turn the business around to a good level of profit this year.

“VFS operates in a competitive landscape which is increasingly dominated by major global players, such as Wayne, and therefore we believe it is now, strategically, a good time for the group to sell VFS to Wayne who will continue to build on the strong foundations we have built.”

VFS has developed an integrated toolbox of best-in-class information management and associated forecourt products, and during the past two years VFS has made significant commercial progress and has established a strong reputation in the UK forecourt sector.

Wayne Fueling Systems is a global provider of fuel dispensing, payment, automation, and control technologies for retail and commercial fuel stations. Through a global network of distributors and service partners, Wayne products are sold and supported in over 140 countries around the world.

Commenting on the deal, Gordons’ Peter Barton said: “We are very pleased to have been able to successfully complete this deal for Vianet Group. Vianet has been a client of ours for ten years during which time we have assisted on a variety of corporate transactions.

“The sale of VFS now allows the management team to focus fully on its core leisure and vending businesses.”