Mobeus in ATG Media bolt-on

Mobeus originally supported the MBO of ATG in October 2008, providing £4.5m of equity funding. This further investment takes Mobeus's total investment in ATG to £9m.

The GP maintained a relationship with Bidstopper over a number of years prior to acquiring the business. Mobeus and Bidstopper engaged in discussions more than two years ago, with actual negotiations starting towards the end of 2012.

According to the GP, Bidstoppper benefits from a strong position in the commercial sector and the UK market, and will provide ATG with an opportunity to enter the online auction market in the US.

This is Mobeus's third deal so far this year and the second designed to provide acquisition finance to expand an existing portfolio company.

Mobeus notably injected a further £3.2m in Motorclean in February. In March, Mobeus invested £6.7m to support the MBO of Gro Group.

Company
ATG's platforms enable buyers to search catalogues and place bids over the internet in real-time, with live audio and video feeds designed to replicate an auction room atmosphere.

The company's platforms hosted 7,000 auction catalogues, held 4,500 live and timed auctions, and sold more than £115m's worth of items in 2012.

The acquisition of Bidstopper will broaden ATG's existing auction platforms, the-saleroom.com and i-bidder.com, to create a business with sites for general auctions, including machinery, property and agricultural sales, alongside a portal for art and antiques auctions.

People
Mike Walker is portfolio director at Mobeus and sits on the board of ATG. Anne Somers is the CEO of ATG.

Advisers
Equity- Marriott Harrison, Jonathan Leigh-Hunt (Legal); Morris, Manning & Martin, Carl J Erhardt (Legal).
Company - Blake Lapthorn, Martin Kay (Legal); Perkins Coie, Troy Hickman (Legal); RSM Tenon, Peter Wear (Financial due diligence), Steve Jacob (Tax).
Vendor - Ladue, Curran & Kuehn LLC, James Haigh (Legal); Barnes & Thornburgh LLP, Timothy Emerick (Legal).

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• Topics
• UK / Ireland
• Expansion
• Now researching
• Technology
• United Kingdom
• Mobeus Equity Partners
• Acquisition finance