Epiris's Axio sells Risi to Euromoney for $125m

The sale marks the sixth "major realisation" from Axio and has generated proceeds of £66m for Epiris-managed funds based on current exchange rates, according to the GP.

It brings the total returns generated from the asset to around £420m, which marks a 4.6x return. According to a statement issued by the GP, its remaining investment in Axio would be expected to raise the return multiple to around 5x.

Under the tenure of Epiris and Axio, Risi has introduced a new management team; invested in a cloud-based sales, contract management, digital rights management and finance platform; expanded its sales and marketing team; and expanded into new market segments. It also bolted on forestry data business Foex in April 2014.

The sale of Risi comes just two weeks after the portfolio company sold its aviation information and intelligence division OAG to Vitruvian Partners for $215m. Four months earlier, the business sold Vidal Group to listed Japanese online portal M3 for €100m. The group's sole remaining data and information business is TechInsights, which operates in the intellectual property sector.

The partial exit from Axio marks the latest in a series of divestments by Epiris, as it approaches the end of its 12-month notice period as investment portfolio manager of listed LP Electra Private Equity. It comes shortly after the £90m EV sale of claims management specialist Davies Group to US mid-market private equity firm HGGC and the sale of audio mixing console producer Audiotonix to Astorg.

The sale of Risi is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in Q2 2017.

Previous funding
Electra first invested in Axio in April 2013, when it carved out the business, then called UBM Data Services, from parent UBM. The £160m spinout was financed via £91m from Electra and a £40m PIK vendor loan.

More recently, the GP provided its portfolio company with fresh acquisition capital to fund the merger of its intellectual property division TechInsights with Canadian competitor Chipworks.

Company
Headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, Risi provides intelligence and data on forestry-related products, including supply and demand, pricing and costs, across the pulp, paper, wood products, timber, tissue and non-wovens markets. The company has a headcount of 150 with operations in the US, China, Belgium, Finland and Brazil.

According to a statement, Risi has increased its profits by an average of 15% per year under Epiris's ownership of Axio.

Axio is headquartered in London.

People
Epiris – Alex Fortescue (managing partner); Alex Cooper-Evans (partner); Sarah Williams (investment director).
Axio Group – Hans Gieskes (chair); Henry Elkington (CEO).

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