ECI sells MThree to trade after 18 months

Greg Gille
07 January 2020

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UK private equity house ECI Partners has sold education services provider MThree to US-listed group John Wiley & Sons for a price tag in excess of ТЃ100m.

This concludes a very short holding period for the GP, which bought the business in August 2018. ECI reaped a 2.7x return and 100% IRR on its investment, according to a source close to the situation.

The deal with John Wiley & Sons closed on 1 January, with MThree shareholders receiving approximately £98m in cash.

The US-listed buyer is a research and education group that works with students, researchers, universities and corporations through a range of platforms and services. MThree will become part of its education services portfolio.

Previous funding
ECI acquired a majority stake in MThree in 2018, for an enterprise value of £45m. MThree continued to be led by its founder and CEO, Alex Headley, who retained a minority stake in the company.

ECI drew capital from its ECI 10 fund to finance the investment. The vehicle held a final close on its £500m hard-cap in September 2014.

Company
Established in 2010 and based in London, MThree is a technology consultancy that works with financial services organisations and technology companies. It sources and trains aspiring students and professionals for tech careers, and places them with corporations and institutions worldwide. It also works with clients to retrain existing employees.

MThree generated revenues of £32m at the time of ECI's investment. According to a statement, it is now on course for 2019 revenues of $50m (£38m), with an expected 20% growth rate.

People
ECI Partners – Richard Chapman (partner).
MThree – Alex Headley (founder, CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Addleshaw Goddard (legal).
Company – Jefferies (corporate finance).
Management – Osborne Clarke (legal).