
Montagu sells Cap for £288m
Montagu Private Equity has sold Leeds-based Cap in a trade sale to US-based Solera Holdings for £288m.
Solera paid for the acquisition entirely in cash. Part of the purchase price payable to management equity holders will be released on a time-based schedule on completion of the transaction. The purchase price represents a multiple of 15.8x Cap's adjusted EBITDA.
It is understood that the divestment will see Montagu make 2x money.
The deal is the second exit in two months for the firm: in October, Montagu sold its stake in Budapest-based Euromedic International to Ares Life Sciences. It is believed that the exits have contributed to the €2.3bn Montagu has returned to investors in the last two years.
The sale also marks the second exit from Montagu IV, a €2.5bn vehicle. The firm's divestment of Polish broadcasting infrastructure provider Emitel to Alinda Capital Partners in December last year was the first exit of the 2011 vintage fund.
Solera Holdings stated Cap would be key to its UK operations. The company is a US-based provider of risk and asset management software to the automotive and property sectors.
Previous funding
Montagu acquired Leeds-based CAP in May 2012 for £170m.
Revenues grew by more than 40% in the two and a half years Cap spent under Montagu's ownership. The company also expanded internationally, launched a new set of tools and increased its workforce by 75%.
Company
Founded in 1979, Leeds-headquartered Cap provides the automotive industry with vehicle valuation data and new vehicle information.
At the time of Montagu's buyout, it had a reported EBITDA of £13m. Cap's revenue for the 12 months to 30 September 2014 was $46m, with an adjusted EBITDA of $26.7m.
People
Edward Shuckburgh is director of Montagu. Ian Rendle is CEO of CAP. Tony Aquila is founder, chairman and CEO of Solera.
Advisers
Vendor – EY (Corporate finance).
Equity – Livingstone (Corporate finance).
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