Dunedin backs £30 million secondary MBO of Capula Limited
21 Aug 2006
Dunedin Capital Partners ('Dunedin'), the UK mid-market private equity house, today announced that it has led the secondary management buyout of Capula Limited ('Capula'), the UK's leading independent provider of real time IT solutions to the energy and utility markets, from Bridgepoint. Dunedin backed the management team led by Group CEO Roger Turner in a transaction valued at £30 million.
Dunedin provided £15.6 million of equity, for a 70% of equity stake, alongside a debt facility of £14.5 million provided by Barclays Leveraged Finance. Dunedin was granted exclusivity early in the sale process because of its understanding of the growth opportunities available to the company.
Capula provides real time automation systems to the nuclear, power generation and utilities markets, a specialised business which involves complex software programming and systems engineering. The company was established in 1970 and now employs more than 180 staff at offices in Staffordshire, Gloucester and Cumbria.
Capula has a strong market position in its core markets of power generation and the nuclear industry, providing IT systems which control much of the electricity distributed across the UK and IT services to the majority of the plants at the Sellafield nuclear site. In addition, Capula is the only UK company with a 100% track record of on time delivery of IT systems to the UK's coal- fired power stations.
Capula's strategy to develop the business is to expand its presence in the nuclear and water utilities sectors where legislation is driving a round of increased capital expenditure for infrastructure projects that Capula is well placed to implement.
Dunedin Directors John Hudson and Dougal Bennett led and completed the transaction. Hudson commented, “We are delighted to be supporting Roger Turner and the management team in this secondary buyout. Capula is a clear market leader in its field and the accomplishments of the management team were a key factor in our decision to make this investment. The nuclear and utilities sectors are poised for considerable growth and we look forward to working with the Capula management team in developing the business.”
Roger Turner, CEO of Capula added, “This is a very exciting time for everyone at Capula. All our markets are facing a period of significant capital investment driven by factors such as the UK Government's recent Energy Review and regulatory driven investment in the utilities. Dunedin has joined our team at just the right time to help us capitalise on opportunities as our clients adopt the latest generation of advanced automation systems to improve business efficiency.”
Ernst & Young advised Dunedin on the acquisition with Pinsent Mason, KPMG and Armstrong providing legal advice, financial and commercial due diligence respectively. The Management Team were advised by Hammonds.
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