ECI Partners Mergers and Acquisitions Summary

Private Equity Firm Profile

In the last 3 years, ECI Partners has acquired 5 companies. It has also invested in 2 others.

ECI Partners’ most common sectors for investment areinformation technology (17%) and internet software and services (16%) . The Firm’s most common investment types include buyout (lbo, mbo, mbi) (47%) and secondary buyout (24%). In total, ECI Partners has invested in 2 US states and 3 different countries. Its largest (disclosed) acquisition occurred in 2023 when it acquired Commify UK for $338M.

In the last 3 years, ECI Partners has exited 16 companies. The Firm’s most common exit type is trade sale (52%). ECI Partners’ largest (disclosed) exit occurred in 1998 when it sold Guardian IT for $359M.

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M&A Summary

  • M&A Total Activity149
    • M&A Buy Activity73
    • M&A Sell Activity76
  • Total Sectors Invested 29
  • Total Countries Invested 3
  • M&A Buy/Sell Connections 48
  • M&A Advisors 15

ECI Partners LLP

Brettenham House (South Entrance) Lancaster Place,
London, WC2E 7EN
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 20 7606 1000
www.ecipartners.com
fiona.moore@ecipartners.com

ECI Partners is a private equity firm focused on the smaller middle-market company that invests in growing businesses valued up to £300m. ECI looks for UK businesses or businesses with a substantial presence in the UK. Funds are generally used to support expansion, acquisitions, management buyouts, buy-ins, turnarounds, and refinancing. Target sectors include IT services, support services, Insurance, and SME services. ECI will not invest in early-stage companies. ECI Partners was formed in 1976 and has offices in London, Manchester, and New York.


Investment Criteria

Sectors of Interest: Business Services, Communications, Education, Healthcare Services, Information Technology, Insurance, Internet Software and Services, Marketing, Media, Medical Products, Software

Target Transaction Types: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI), Growth Capital, Secondary Buyout, Stake Purchase

Geographic Preferences: United Kingdom, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Nordic

Transaction Criteria Min Max
Target Revenue - -
Target EBITDA - -
Investment Size - 300
Enterprise Value - 100
values in millions of GBP

M&A Summary

Buy vs Sell

Year ≤ '18 '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 T
Buy (2.0/yr) # 63 3 2 1 2 2 73
vol $868M $338M $1.2B
Sell (3.2/yr) # 60 - 5 3 6 2 76
vol $2.9B $129M $3.0B
  149

Most Recent M&A

Company Date Value Type
ISMS.online 2023-11-29 - Growth Capital
Brighton, United Kingdom · www.isms.online
Commify UK Ltd. 2023-09-05 338M EUR Secondary Buyout
Nottingham, United Kingdom · www.commify.com
4Ways Healthcare Ltd. 2023-04-05 - Trade Sale
Hertfordshire, United Kingdom · www.4waysdiagnostics.co.uk
Tuskerdirect Ltd. 2023-02-22 - Trade Sale
Hertfordshire, United Kingdom · www.tuskercars.com
MiQ Digital Ltd. 2022-09-13 - Secondary Sale
Manchester, United Kingdom · www.wearemiq.com
Bionic Services Ltd. 2022-07-20 - Secondary Sale
London, United Kingdom · www.bionic.co.uk
Clear Insurance Management Ltd. 2022-06-27 - Secondary Sale
London, United Kingdom · www.thecleargroup.com
BCN Group Ltd. 2022-06-20 - Secondary Buyout
Manchester, United Kingdom · www.bcn.co.uk
Imagesound Ltd. 2022-05-09 - Secondary Sale
Derbyshire, United Kingdom · www.imagesound.com
Zenergi Ltd. 2022-02-14 - Secondary Buyout
Southampton, United Kingdom · www.zenergi.co.uk
View All >>

Portfolio M&A

Company Acquired Add-On/Sale Date #
BCN Group Ltd. 2022-06-20 New CMI Ltd. 2023-04-03 1
Manchester, United Kingdom · www.bcn.co.uk Belfast, United Kingdom · www.newcmi.com

M&A by Sector

Sector Current # Value All-time # Value
Information Technology 2 (20%) - 12 (16%) 163M (14%)
Internet Software and Services 2 (20%) - 11 (15%) -
Business Services 1 (10%) - 7 (10%) -
Software 4 (40%) 338M (100%) 4 (5%) 338M (28%)
Retail - - 4 (5%) 267M (22%)
Consumer Products - - 3 (4%) 131M (11%)
Marketing - - 3 (4%) 77M (6%)
Transportation - - 3 (4%) -
Manufacturing - - 2 (3%) 93M (8%)
Technology Hardware - - 2 (3%) 80M (7%)
Communications 1 (10%) - 2 (3%) -
Education - - 2 (3%) -
Leisure - - 2 (3%) -
Restaurants - - 1 (1%) 38M (3%)
Food - - 1 (1%) 18M (2%)
Building Materials - - 1 (1%) -
E-Commerce - - 1 (1%) -
Electrical Equipment - - 1 (1%) -
Energy Services and Equipment - - 1 (1%) -
Financial Services - - 1 (1%) -
Healthcare Services - - 1 (1%) -
Information Services - - 1 (1%) -
Insurance - - 1 (1%) -
Life Science - - 1 (1%) -
Media - - 1 (1%) -
Medical Products - - 1 (1%) -
Packaging - - 1 (1%) -
Plastics - - 1 (1%) -
Safety/Security - - 1 (1%) -
Total 10 $338M 73 $1.2B

Acquisitions By Geo

State/Country Current # Value All-time # Value
United Kingdom 10 (100%) 338M (100%) 69 (95%) 1.2B (100%)
United States - - 2 (3%) -
  North Carolina - - 1 (1%) -
  Florida - - 1 (1%) -
Ireland - - 2 (3%) -
Total 10 $338M 73 $1.2B

Acquisitions by Deal Type

Type Current # Value All-time # Value
Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) - - 34 (47%) 336M (28%)
Secondary Buyout 5 (50%) 338M (100%) 17 (23%) 677M (56%)
Growth Capital 4 (40%) - 14 (19%) -
Divestiture - - 6 (8%) 193M (16%)
Stake Purchase 1 (10%) - 2 (3%) -
Total 10 $338M 73 $1.2B

Exits by Deal Type

Type Total # Value
Trade Sale 30 (39%) 937M (33%)
Secondary Sale 26 (34%) 822M (29%)
Trade Sale - Public Company 10 (13%) 648M (23%)
IPO 8 (11%) 383M (13%)
Merger 1 (1%) 80M (3%)
Sold to Management 1 (1%) -
Total 76 $2.9B

Top M&A Advisors

Financial Deals
Canaccord Genuity Corp.
 3
KPMG Corporate Finance LLC
 2
Daiwa Corporate Advisory Ltd. (DC Advisory)
 2
Legal Deals
Squire Patton Boggs
 3
Travers Smith LLP
 1
Squire Sanders
 1

Deal Values

buy # Total
$100M to $1B 3 $638M
< $100M 9 $568M
TOTAL $1.2B
Largest Commify UK Ltd.
$338M (2023-09-05)
sell # Total
$100M to $1B 13 $2.0B
< $100M 21 $1.0B
TOTAL $3.0B
Largest Guardian IT
$359M (1998-01-01)

M&A Connections

Deals
Acquired from
Investor(s)
25%
18 (25%)
Strategic(s)
8%
6 (8%)
Exited to
Investor(s)
36%
27 (36%)
Strategic(s)
51%
39 (51%)

Investor Summary

Investor Type

Private Equity Firm

Size

Large

PE Assets

1.7B GBP

Established

1976

Specialist/Generalist

Generalist

Leadership

Chris Watt

Managing Partner

David Ewing

Managing Partner

Sean Whelan

Managing Partner

Tom Wrenn

Managing Partner

Philip Shuttleworth

CFO

FAQ

When was ECI Partners LLP founded?

ECI Partners LLP was founded in 1976.

What type of investor is ECI Partners LLP?

ECI Partners LLP is a private equity firm.

Where is ECI Partners LLP headquartered?

ECI Partners LLP is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

How much capital does ECI Partners LLP have under management?

ECI Partners LLP has 1.7B GBP under management.

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