Bridgepoint has agreed a 拢169 million deal to take Eckoh plc private.
The private equity investor says the move, if ratified by shareholders, will help the secure payments and customer engagement software firm to realise its potential.
Bridgepoint has created a vehicle, Eagle UK Bidco Limited, to complete the all-cash deal.
The offer is for 54 pence per share, which represents a premium of approximately 11.34% to the last available price of 48.5p.
It values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Eckoh at approximately 拢169.3m, a multiple of 15.9x on Eckoh’s adjusted EBITDA for the year ended 31st March 2024.
鈥淏ridgepoint views Eckoh as a leading provider of secure payments and customer engagement software, with a strong management team and differentiated positioning in a niche market,鈥� the PE firm stated. 鈥淭he sector is expected to benefit from tailwinds, including continued investment in technology, the rise of omnichannel interactions and the growing need to protect sensitive data.
鈥淲e believe that with the right additional investment, Eckoh will be well-placed to succeed. Bridgepoint will help unlock Eckoh’s potential through geographic expansion, product innovation and expansion and targeted acquisitions – enabling Eckoh to grow its customer base and drive long-term profitable growth.
鈥淔uture prospects鈥� will be optimised under private ownership, where Eckoh’s management will have greater flexibility to execute and accelerate their investment strategy with a supportive majority shareholder more aligned with their long-term vision.鈥�
The firms have gained varying degrees of promises to vote in favour of the deal amounting to 18% of Eckoh鈥檚 shares.
Eckoh has a 20-year history in contact centre technology, with its solutions now used by over 200 enterprise clients, primarily based in the US and the UK. The firm employs 190 people across its Hemel Hempstead head office and bases in Ealing and Omaha in the US.聽
For the financial year ended 31st March 2024, it reported revenues of 拢37.2m – a 4% drop on the prior year – with adjusted EBITDA of 拢10.2m (拢9.4m).
The acquisition is expected to complete during Q1 2025, subject to shareholder approval.
“This offer represents a strong premium and allows Eckoh shareholders to realise attractive value,鈥� said Alan Payne, partner and deputy head of Bridgepoint Development Capital. 鈥淓ckoh is an international leader in a niche software sector and at the cutting edge of customer engagement technology, and we are real admirers of the platform.聽
鈥淭here is a growing need for businesses to establish secure customer payment solutions as new contact channels, payment methods and compliance regulations emerge and customer requirements evolve.聽
鈥淓ckoh is driven by a mission to make the world more secure, and we are excited to work alongside Eckoh’s management team to accelerate development into a scaled, global leader, further strengthening the capability and offering for customers.鈥�
Nik Philpot, CEO of Eckoh, added: “Over the past decade Eckoh has established itself as a global leader in customer engagement data security.
鈥淥ur team has been making excellent progress where we see the biggest opportunity for growth, with momentum building in North America, but we need to accelerate investment in our product roadmap and our go-to-market strategy to drive forward important initiatives and to capitalise on the opportunity.鈥�