ECI Partners
ECI Partners is a private equity group established by the Bank of England in 1976. It invests in small to medium-sized companies headquartered in the UK.
it organised its first management buyout for Ansafone in 1980 and was a founder member of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.
In September 2014 it collected £500m, the tenth and largest fund in its 38-year history.[1]
Fundraising began in early April 2014 with a target fund size of £400m and closed at the hard cap of £500m five months later, having been significantly oversubscribed. This made ECI the first private equity firm investing in UK-headquartered companies to raise a tenth buyout fund focused on the same strategy.
ECI's latest investment was in March 2016 in premium pet food company MPM, which produces high-quality, natural pet foods.[2]
It bought leasing company Tusker in February 2015.[3]
In May 2015 it bought Evans Cycles from Active Private Equity.[4]
In December 2014 ECI invested in Investis, the leading independent global specialist in digital corporate communications, to accelerate its global growth strategy. [5]
Exits
In February 2016, ECI sold Citation, a provider of HR, employment law, and health & safety solutions to 16,000 SMEs, to HGCapital[6] for a reported £185m.[7]
In June 2015 it sold Fourth Hospitality, a restaurant management software firm to Insight Venture Partners.[8]
In February 2015 ECI sold Wireless Logic, an M2M managed service provider, to CVC Capital Partners.[9]
In October 2014 ECI sold XLN Business Services to the company's management and Blackstone’s credit business GSO Capital Partners generating a 3x return on its investment. [10]
In February 2014 ECI sold M2 Digital to The Rigby Group through its technology brand SCC. [11]
ECI sold healthcare IT company Ascribe to AIM-listed clinical software supplier Emis Group in September 2013 generating a 2.1x return. [12]
References
- ↑ "ECI Partners notches up largest fund in its history". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ "Private equity firm ECI gobbles up gastro pet food company MPM". Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ↑ "ECI Partners invests in Tusker". Fleet News. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ "Sale of Evans Cycles to ECI Partners agreed". Cycling Weekly. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ "ECI backs Investis to accelerate its growth strategy". UK Business Angels Association. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ "ECI makes 5.4x on Citation sale to HgCapital". Real Deals. 15 February 2016.
- ↑ "Fast growing Citation is snapped up by Hg Capital for £185m". AlManchester Evening News. 15 February 2016.
- ↑ "RESTAURANT SOFTWARE PROVIDER BOUGHT BY US FIRM". Insider Media. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ "ECI scores 6.1x return through CVC’s acquisition of Wireless Logic". AltAssets. 10 February 2015.
- ↑ "ECI reaps 3x on XLN exit". Unquote. 6 October 2014.
- ↑ "Print services firm M2 Digital bought by SCC". 18 February 2014.
- ↑ "ECI makes 2.1x on Ascribe exit". Unquote. 13 September 2013.