Civica owner Partners Group begins sponsor discussions for post-summer exit

The Swiss buyout fund, which appointed Arma Partners to explore sale options earlier this year, has released a teaser to prospective bidders for a sale of London-headquartered Civica, one source said. A formal sale process is slated to begin post the European summer, the same source added.

Civica, which provides business-critical software and technology outsourcing services, is being marketed off an FY23 EBITDA of GBP 130m, two of the sources said, which represents a 30% operating margin, one added.

As previously reported, account filings show that Civica generated EBITDA, including exceptional items, of around GBP 110m in the year ended 31 September 2021. In the same year, it posted revenues of GBP 458.8m, up from GBP 424.9m in FY 2020. More recent financials are not publicly available.

Partners Group hired Arma Partners earlier this year to explore strategic options for Civica after calling off a Goldman Sachs-led auction in 2021. Its previous attempt to sell the business stalled amid disagreements over valuation with the sponsor said to have been holding out for offers in the region of GBP 2.7bn-GBP 3bn, while prospective buyers valued the company at GBP 2bn-GBP 2.2bn.

BC Partners, CVC, CPPIB and KKR were among the private equity firms that expressed initial interest in the business at the time.

Representatives for Partners Group and Arma Partners declined to comment. Civica did not respond to requests for comment.

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