Summit exits Acturis in Astorg-backed deal

Kenny Wastell
04 March 2019

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Summit Partners has agreed to sell its stake in Acturis Group, a UK-based developer of insurance-related software, in an Astorg-backed deal that brings to an end a nine-year holding period.

Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, though an earlier report by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket stated that the transaction could value the company at around 14-15x EBITDA, which stood at £29.5m in 2016. The business generated an operating profit of £23m in the year ending in September 2017, according to publicly available documents, compared with £22.9m in 2016.

Astorg is currently investing from its €4bn seventh fund, which typically invests in businesses valued at more than €200m.

The acquirer will take a minority stake in the business via the latest deal, with the company's employees continuing to own a majority stake in the firm. Summit held a stake of 42-45% in Acturis, according to the Mergermarket report.

Since first receiving backing from Summit, the group has undertaken international expansion, made a number of bolt-on acquisitions and increased its number of users from 7,000 to 20,000. Acturis increased its revenues from around £10m in 2008 to £62.2m in 2017, according to the documents.

Acturis will continue to pursue an acquisitive growth strategy following the latest deal, which is subject to regulatory approval.

Previous funding
Summit acquired a minority stake in Acturis via a 2010 expansion round.

Company
Founded in 2001, London-headquartered Acturis develops insurance-related software. Its broker platform enables firms to quote for, sell and manage insurance products, undertake auditing, communicate with clients and produce data analysis. Its insurer platform assists in underwriting and multi-channel distribution, in addition to featuring third-party integration. The business has a headcount of 700.

People
Astorg – Benoit Ficheur (partner).
Summit Partners – Scott Collins, Han Sikkens (managing directors).
Acturis Group – Theo Duchen, David McDonald (co-CEOs, co-founders).

Advisers
Vendor – Kirkland & Ellis (legal).
Acquirer – Paul Hastings, Alexis Terray, Joséphine Fourquet, Garrett Hayes, David Prowse, Catherine Kennedy (legal).
Company – Jefferies International (corporate finance); Dickson Minto (legal).