[L - R] Russell Bainbridge of Keebles, Tim Guest of Zoedale, Barnaby Guest of Zoedale, Paul Trudgill of Keebles, and Poonam Kaur of FDS, who helped navigate the deal.

Engineering firm to expand following acquisition

A Bedford-based engineering company is planning for expansion after being acquired by an international equipment group.

Zoedale, which specialises in solenoid valves and valve actuators, has been acquired by OEM Automatic, an industrial equipment supplier.

The company says that the acquisition will allow it to broaden its product offering as well as its sector expertise, while remaining in Yorkshire.

The deal was navigated by Poonam Kaur of FDS, based in Wakefield.

Richard Armstrong, UK managing director at OEM commented: “We are really excited about Zoedale joining the OEM Group.

“Because of the market synergy between OEM Automatic and Zoedale we can offer our UK customers a much broader range of products.

“Not only will we be offering more products, but we will also be utilising both companies’ technical expertise to provide the best solutions for their applications.”

Paul Trudgill, who helped advise on the transaction on behalf of Keebles, said: “We were delighted to help Tim and Barnaby [co-founders and directors] sell their family company to OEM-Automatic.

“It was a pleasure to see the success of Tim and his family over the years realised by the conclusion of the transaction, which will enable Tim to continue to work with the business while exploring other exciting opportunities.”

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