Darwin PE backs £11m Esendex MBO

Esendex's former COO, Geoff Love, led the deal on behalf of the company and has been appointed CEO. Esendex co-founder Julian Hucker stated on the company's website that his decision to sell his stake in the company, alongside co-founder Adam Bird, boiled down to his belief that the people who start a business are not necessarily the best people to run it once it has taken off.

Darwin will consider investing additional capital in the company in the future to aid Esendex in expanding into overseas markets or making acquisitions. The deal marks Darwin's first investment for 2013.

Company
Esendex, a Nottingham-headquartered company, was founded in 2001. The company employs 60 staff and has forecast revenues of £10m for 2013.

Esendex provides SMS services for businesses, including web SMS, email SMS, voice SMS and SMS API, allowing companies to send bulk or personalised text messages to their customers. The company's services are currently used by 18,000 businesses internationally. Its client base includes Virgin Media, Ocado, Boots, Experian, Fitness First and BAA Gatwick.

People
Julian Hucker and Adam Bird are the co-founders and exiting shareholders of Esendex, although both will remain active within the company in consulting roles. Geoff Love, former COO of Esendex, is the company's new CEO and MeetingZone founder Tim Duffy will join the company's board of directors as chairman. Darwin partner Nick Jordan led the deal for the private equity firm.

Advisers
Equity - Smith Square Partners (Corporate finance); Berwin Leighton Paisner (Legal); Greenwich Consulting (Commercial due diligence); Deloitte (Structuring); Grant Thornton (Financial due diligence).
Company - Aquaa Partners (Corporate finance); Murphy Salisbury (Corporate finance); Shakespeares (Legal).

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