Home / Deals / Advised The Access Group, a leading provider of cloud-based business management software to mid-market organisations in the UK and portfolio company of TA Associates, on its strategic investment from Hg valuing the business at $1.4 billion

Advised The Access Group, a leading provider of cloud-based business management software to mid-market organisations in the UK and portfolio company of TA Associates, on its strategic investment from Hg valuing the business at $1.4 billion
Apr 2018
(a portfolio company of TA Associates)
strategic investment by
$1,400 million
  • Sector: Application Software; Digital Health
  • Deal Type: Founder-led Businesses; Private Equity Deals
  • Engagement type: Sellside
  • Size: $1,400 million
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Arma Partners is pleased to announce that it has acted as exclusive financial advisor to The Access Group on its strategic investment from Hg valuing the business at an enterprise value of approximately £1 billion. Current majority shareholder TA Associates will retain joint control of The Access Group.

With its portfolio spanning ERP, finance, HR, payroll, recruitment, education, warehousing, business intelligence, professional service automation and manufacturing, The Access Group is the leading vendor of mission-critical business software to mid-market organisations in the UK.

This transaction highlights Arma Partners’ deep expertise in enterprise software and our ability to unlock significant value for private equity backed clients.

-Founded in 1991, The Access Group is the leading vendor of mission-critical business software to mid-market organisations in the UK

-Over the past three years, the business has experienced strong organic growth, executed 11 acquisitions, entered three new vertical markets and grown its customer base to more than 12,700 UK businesses and not-for-profit organisations

-Established in 2000, Hg is a leading European private equity firm that has raised c. £9bn in total commitments and made 30+ TMT investments and over 200 bolt-on acquisitions

-A sector expert investor, Hg invests in expanding segments of the TMT, Services and Industrials sectors across Western Europe

-With offices in both London and Munich, the firm is currently investing out of its eighth main fund, HgCapital 8, which closed in 2017 at a total size of £2.5bn

-Hg’s investment and support will further assist The Access Group in its journey as one of the UK’s leading providers of cloud-enabled business application software

-With TA Associates retaining joint control of the business, The Access Group will have access to significant resources to accelerate growth through M&A and to continue to deliver innovation and value to its clients

-The Access Group engaged Arma Partners to lead the sale process and provide deal support including strategic positioning, preparation of marketing materials, financial analysis, valuation, deal tactics and execution

-Hg emerged as the most attractive bidder for the business and Arma Partners, together with The Access Group’s management team and TA Associates, worked on a very short timeline to complete the deal which pre-empted a process

-This transaction highlights Arma Partners’ deep expertise in enterprise software and its ability to unlock significant value for private equity backed clients

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