Maven reaps 2.7x on sale of Cursor to DiscoverIE

Kenny Wastell
17 October 2018

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Maven Capital Partners has sold Cursor Controls, a manufacturer of trackballs for technology used in the industrial sector, to trade buyer DiscoverIE Group for up to ТЃ23m.

The vendor generated a 2.68x money multiple from the sale following a three-year holding period.

The transaction will see DiscoverIE pay an initial £19m with a further payment of £4m subject to performance across the next three years.

Cursor has undertaken an acquisitive growth strategy under Maven's tenure, doubling its revenues to £9.5m, according to a statement issued by the vendor. The GP was invested in the company via its VCTs.

Previous funding
Maven provided £4.3m to support the management buyout of Cursor in 2015, alongside an unnamed co-investor.

Company
Headquartered in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Cursor (originally known as The Trackerball Company) was founded in 1995 when it span out from the GEC Plessey Group. The company's products, including trackballs, touchpads and rugged keyboards, are used in industrial technology to replace standard computer mouse devices.

Cursor traces its history to the 1940s, when The Marconi Company developed a trackball for use in radar systems. Marconi's trackball division was later acquired by GEC Plessey. The business now generates 90% of its revenues from exports.

People
Maven Capital Partners – Mike Collis (head of portfolio).
Cursor Controls – Neale Sutton (managing director).

Advisers
Company – Livingstone, Graham Carberry, Tom Smith, Nick Manning (corporate finance); Browne Jacobson, Gavin Cummings, Paul McCannah (legal).