ECI sells Investis Digital to Investcorp, reaps 2.6x return

ECI hired Raymond James to advise on the sale of Investis in July 2019, but, following the coronavirus outbreak, the sale was put on hold and resumed only recently, according to Unquote sister publication Mergermarket.

Following the deal, Investis's management team will stay on with the business and acquire a significant stake in the company alongside Investcorp.

With the GP's support, Investis intends to accelerate its product innovation and diversification, enhance its client services, and further expand its market presence. The GP also plans to boost the company's growth via M&A.

Under ECI's ownership, the company increased its revenues and EBITDA, and expanded via several add-on acquisitions, including the purchases of Zog Digital, Vertical Measures and Microserve, which bolstered its digital capabilities, especially in the US.

The sale ends a seven-year holding period for ECI, which bought Investis from Gresham Private Equity in a deal that valued the company at around £50m. Clydesdale Bank provided a debt package to support the deal and Alcentra deployed a unitranche facility.

Previous funding
Investis received £2.75m from the Reuters Greenhouse Fund in 2000, with Reuters taking a minority stake in the business.

Gresham acquired Investis in October 2012, taking a majority stake in the business as part of a £25m management buyout. Clydesdale supplied a debt package to support Gresham's acquisition.

Company
Established in 2000 and headquartered in London, Investis is a provider of digital corporate communications and marketing services to blue-chip institutions globally.

Through its proprietary Connected Content platform, Investis combines communications, digital experiences and performance marketing to help companies build deeper connections with audiences, manage corporate reputation and drive business performance. It serves around 1,600 businesses globally.

The company employs 500 digital experts across nine offices in the US, the UK, Europe and India. It generated EBITDA of £5m from revenues of £21m in 2019.

People
Investcorp – Jose Pfeifer (managing director of Investcorp's European private equity group).
ECI Partners – Richard Chapman (partner).
Investis Digital – Don Scales (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Raymond James (corporate finance); Osborne Clarke (legal).
Acquirer – GCA Altium (corporate finance); Shearman & Sterling (legal).

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