Challenge

Headquartered in Malvern, Smartbox is a market-leading creator of software and hardware that helps disabled people without speech to have a voice and live more independently. For over 15 years it's been designing and manufacturing assistive technology solutions that are designed to improve the lives of the thousands of people with disabilities.

Smartbox was bought by Tobii AB in 2018. However, following an inquiry from the UK Competition and Markets Authority, Tobii was required to divest Smartbox to maintain suitable levels of competition in the UK. We were approached by Smartbox’s management team to support them through the bidding process to secure a new owner.

Solution

Management Support

We assisted the management team to negotiate an ongoing relationship with the eventual acquirer of the business - CareTech.

Transaction Support

Having established the partnership between management and CareTech, we acted as part of the wider acquisition team assisting in the negotiation of the transaction with the seller, Tobii AB. Our process management skills assisted the acquisition team to complete smoothly and to timetable.

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Results

We advised the management team in their joint and successful bid with CareTech, and assisted in the transaction that followed. The successful deal means the new alliance will be able to reach more people around the world in need of assistive technology, whilst improving service pathways for disabled people and those with complex needs.

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testimonial

Although our circumstances regularly and dramatically changed throughout this period, Shaw & Co consistently gave us astute and objective advice. As the deal progressed so did the workload for Shaw & Co as well as the complexity of the negotiations. There were many examples through the process where Jim worked late into the night to ensure the small details of the deal were dealt with. He also worked very well with the other stakeholders in the process to ensure things were resolved as efficiently as possible.”

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We had a very positive experience working with Jim and his team over a 2-3 year period."

Dougal Hawes
Managing Director, Smartbox Assistive Technology Limited