August Equity mandates Rothschild for Amtivo exit

Gustav Hoejmark-Jensen and Josh O'Neill
22 February 2022

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August Equity has hired Rothschild to explore a sale of UK-based ISO certification provider Amtivo, two sources familiar with the situation said.

The process is in pre-launch stage and Rothschild has earmarked 2Q22 to kick off a formal auction, one of the sources and a third source familiar said, with the latter adding that it would be a post-Easter launch.

The asset is expected to be marketed off annual EBITDA of around GBP 10m, the three sources said. Amtivo booked turnover of GBP 15.5m in the year ended 31 December 2020, according to public filings.

KKR and Hg-backed business services provider Citation Group could show interest in Amtivo, one of the sources suggested, as could Alcumus, the risk-management software provider recently acquired by Apax Partners, this source added.

The company has broad appeal to financial sponsors because of its SaaS-based platform and ESG credentials, one of the other sources said.

August Equity created Amtivo in 2018, following its acquisition of the British Assessment Bureau for an undisclosed sum. Under the UK private equity house's ownership, Amtivo executed several bolt-on acquisitions, including Certification Europe, Ocean Certification and most recently, QA International Certification as reported.

Amtivo has customers in over 40 countries with offices in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Norway, China and Japan, according to its website. The firm's SaaS platform enables users to manage ISO compliance and certification, while its cyber-security consultancy department tackles risk-management processes.

August Equity declined to comment. Rothschild and Amtivo did not respond to requests for comments.