Ashurst advised pan-European private equity firm Agilitas on the buyout of Hydro International Limited, a leading global provider of advanced products, services and technology for the treatment of wastewater and the control of stormwater, for municipal, industrial and construction customers.

Hydro is headquartered in the UK, with significant US operations, and has operated in the water management sector since the 1980s. It employs 219 staff, predominantly in the UK and in Maine and Oregon in the US. Hydro's wastewater division provides products and services for wastewater treatment plants and is the US technology leader in grit removal equipment, whilst its stormwater division focuses on control, storage and quality management for stormwater run-off.

The Ashurst team was led by private equity partner David Carter, assisted by associates Jacob Gold, Jack Mendelssohn and Ciaran Fitzgerald-Morgan. Banking advice was provided by partner Ross Ollerhead, senior associate Katharine Tuohy and associate Andrew Lowndes. Partner Ruth Buchanan advised on employment matters, assisted by associate Sarah-Beth Neville, with counsel David Baxter and associate Rebecca Servian advising on incentives aspects of the transaction. Partner Alexander Cox and associate Rebecca Kell advised on tax matters, senior associate Tove Webster advised on insurance aspects and associate Liz Ramsaran provided pensions advice.

Agilitas is a long-standing client, with the firm having advised on a number of transactions including:

    on the buyout of Danoffice IT
    on the management buyout of Exemplar Healthcare
    on the acquisition of a majority stake in the Ionisos Group
    on the acquisition of the Michael Henriksen Group