Options Technology draws Permira's interest as Abry Partners collects refreshed bids

Charlie Taylor-Kroll , Ryan Gould , Josh O'Neill and Claude Risner
10 August 2023

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Buyout firmТ PermiraТ is among parties participating in the sale ofТ Options TechnologyТ after ownerТ Abry PartnersТ collected the latest round of bids for the London-based IT services specialist last week, according to sources familiar with the matter.Т

Financial sponsor Cinven was still expressing interest in recent weeks, although its current appetite is unclear after the most recent bid deadline, which is understood to have been non-binding, according to two of the sources. An undisclosed strategic buyer is also involved in the process, one of them added.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in early July that Cinven had submitted an initial non-binding offer in June and was in talks with direct lenders to secure financing.

Sellside advisers Jefferies and Arma Partners widened the number of parties involved in the process after originally pursuing a narrow auction with the involvement of only a handful of "pre-warmed" suitors, one of the sources said.

Abry Partners launched the sale of Options Technology earlier this year and collected non-binding offers on 19 June after reaching out to a mix of financial and strategic partners, per Mergermarket intelligence. The incumbent sponsor is expected to roll some of its stakes as part of any deal, according to one of the sources.

Options Technology is being pitched to prospective buyers off roughly USD 70m in projected 2023 EBITDA, as reported. The company reported an EBITDA of GBP 40m (USD 51m at today's exchange rate) on around GBP 189m in revenue for 2021, according to its latest available accounts filings.

Founded in 1993, Options Technology provides managed trading infrastructure and cloud-enabled managed services to global investment banks, hedge funds, funds of funds, market makers and other financial institutions. Boston-based Abry made a significant growth investment in Options at undisclosed terms in January 2020.

Representatives for Abry Partners, Jefferies, Arma Partners, Permira and Cinven declined to comment. Options did not respond to requests for comment.