Omers makes 2.6x on £1bn sale of Civica to Partners Group

Oscar Geen
24 July 2017

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Omers Private Equity has sold UK-based software company Civica to Partners Group for an enterprise value of ТЃ1.055bn, generating a 2.6x return.

The sale ends a four-year holding period for Omers, which purchased the company from 3i Group for an enterprise value of £390m in May 2013.

Projected EBITDA for 2017 is £66-67m, according to a source close to the situation, equating to an entry multiple of 15.9x. The company attracted leverage pitches of 6.5-6.75x, according to unquote" sister publication Debtwire.

The most up to date financials publicly available include a £55.1m EBITDA from £267.7m in sales in 2016. EBITDA increased by 17.7% and revenue increased by 14.4% from 2015 figures, which stood at £46.8m and £234m respectively.

Omers invested in organic growth initiatives for Civica, as well as supporting 12 bolt-on acquisitions since 2013.

Partners Group will support growth by further acquisitions, particularly focusing on Civica's operations in Australia and Singapore.

Previous funding
3i bought Civica in a £270m deal in 2008, delisting the company from AIM. The deal had an enterprise value of £220m and a total value of £270m, including a £50m commitment to acquisition-finance funding. The buyer injected £100m in equity, while a debt package of £170m was supplied by RBS, Bank of Ireland, National Australia Bank, Lloyds and European Capital. The debt package was composed of £100m in senior debt, £20m in acquisition finance, £15m in revolving facilities and £35m in mezzanine (provided by Lloyds and European Capital).

Omers bought Civica from 3i in May 2013 for an enterprise value of £390m, generating proceeds of £226m and a 2.1x money multiple for 3i. Debt for the transaction was provided by GE Capital.

Under Omers' stewardship, Civica made 12 bolt-on acquisitions. Ten were UK-based companies and two were Australian. The most recent was the purchase of Buckinghamshire-based Carval Computing in July 2017, an HR and payroll software developer.

Company
London-based Civica provides software and IT services to the public sector. The firm combines business and technical consulting, and the development and integration of specialist business applications and managed services. The company was launched as Civica in 2002, but has been operating in the sector since 1986. It supplies around 2,000 organisations in 10 countries, and employs 3,700 people.

People
Omers Private Equity – Mark Redman (global head).
Partners Group – Bilge Ogut (managing director).
Civica – Wayne Story (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer – Clifford Chance (legal); EY (financial due diligence, tax, IT due diligence); OC&C (commercial due diligence); Marsh (insurance due diligence); Kirkland & Ellis (debt advisory).
Vendor – Goldman Sachs (corporate finance); Nomura (corporate finance); Weil Gotshal & Manges (legal); EY (financial due diligence, operational due diligence, tax).