Mobeus sells Access-IS, nets 23.4% IRR

Katharine Hidalgo
17 August 2020

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Mobeus Equity Partners has sold security devices manufacturer Access-IS to trade buyer HID, reaping an IRR of 23.4%.

The firm generated a money multiple of 2.5x on the transaction, according to a statement. The sale results in total cash proceeds for the Mobeus VCTs of £27.8m.

HID Global is a US-based manufacturer of secure identity products. The company is an independent brand of Assa Abloy, a Sweden-based door and access control conglomerate.

The Access sale follows Mobeus's realisation of Auction Technology Group in February 2020 to TA Associates. The two exits have delivered Mobeus VCT shareholders £48m in realised cash gains during the holding period.

Since Mobeus's investment, Access has doubled revenues from £11.5m to more than £19m in 2019. During the holding period, the business has invested in professionalising its operations and increasing its production capacity.

Previous funding
In 2015, Mobeus provided an investment of £11m.

Company
Established in 1985 as a specialist keyboard maker, Access-IS is now a manufacturer of equipment used to capture and transfer information into electronic systems based on bar codes, radio-frequency identification, and image-processing techniques. Customers typically hail from airlines and airports, and the security, public transport and ticketing sectors.

People
Mobeus – Clive Austin (portfolio partner).
Access-IS – Guy-Franck Nakach (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – EC Mergers & Acquisitions (corporate finance); Addleshaw Goddard (legal); RSM (financial due diligence).