Caledonia makes 3.5x on Celerant Consulting exit

Carmen Reichman
23 January 2013

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Caledonia Investments has reaped a 3.5x money multiple on its exit from UK-based management consultancy business Celerant Consulting.

The firm sold its 47.3% equity holding to Hitachi Consulting Corporation for £47.7m - no other bidders were involved in the sale. Caledonia generated a 27.9% IRR on its original investment.

Previous funding
Caledonia acquired its stake in Celerant in a £42m management buyout from Novell Inc in May 2006, backed by a debt facility provided by RBS. The company had posted pre-tax profits of £8.5m on a turnover of £82.2m in the previous year and employed 500 people. On exit, the company's leverage had been paid down to a minimal level, according to Caledonia.

Caledonia worked on expanding operational improvement services both geographically and across sectors, and on strengthening Celerant's position as an independent company. The firm also implemented a management succession solution, replacing the company's founder with a new management team. Celerant employed more than 400 people at the time of exit.

Company
Celerant was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Richmond with offices across Europe and the US. The company's management consultancy service focuses on improving processes and systems through an initiative named Closework.

Celerant merged with Cambridge Technology Partners in 1997 before being bought by Novell Inc in 2001.

People
Duncan Johnson led the deal for Caledonia.

Advisers
Company - Macfarlanes, Ian Martin (Legal); Catalyst, Andy Currie (Corporate finance).