Ascribe wins go-ahead for £33m public to private deal
A management buy-out of the AIM-listed healthcare IT business Ascribe plc has been given the go-ahead by shareholders.
They have accepted an offer of 28 pence per share, which values the company at £32.9 million. The offer comes from Scroll Bidco, the company set up by Ascribe management to return it to private ownership and which is backed by Yorkshire Bank Corporate & Structured Finance and private equity house ECI.
Ascribe is a leading provider of clinically-focussed IT solutions to the healthcare market, and reported turnover of £17.4m and post-tax profits of £2.9m in the year ended June 2008.
The group was founded in 1984 by the current chief executive Stephen Critchlow and Chris Jones, a pharmacist and doctor respectively. Ascribe providing a wide range of software to hospitals, including e-prescribing, pharmacy, mental health, patient administration and accident and emergency systems. The group, which is based in Bolton and employs more than 270 people around the world, floated on AIM in December 2004 and has since acquired nine businesses.
ECI is investing over £18 million in the buy-out while the Manchester office of Yorkshire Bank Corporate & Structured Finance is providing senior debt and other facilities to support the deal. The management team will also be maintaining a significant investment in the business.
Directors, Owen Malton and Roddy Kilpatrick led the deal for Yorkshire Bank’s Corporate and Structured Finance team. Kilpatrick said: “Ascribe is an innovative and profitable business that benefits from high customer retention and strong recurring revenues.
“Taking the company private will give it greater flexibility and put it in the best possible position to continue its growth and fund future acquisitions.
“We are pleased to support ECI, which has a strong track record of growing companies and achieving first-rate returns on its investments. The deal also underpins Yorkshire Bank’s growing reputation as a leading provider of acquisition finance.”
Stephen Critchlow, Ascribe’s CEO added: “The management team are enthused to have the support of Yorkshire Bank and ECI. We are now in a good position to both acquire appropriate businesses and grow organically to meet the ever increasing market opportunities in Healthcare IT.”
The Manchester office of investment banking group Altium advised Scroll Bidco. Hammonds LLP provided legal advice to ECI and Scroll Bidco while Addleshaw Goddard in Manchester provided legal advice to the bank. Ernst & Young in Manchester provided financial due diligence while CIL carried out commercial due diligence.
For further information contact:
Sam Dabbs, Dabbs PR & Marketing, Tel. 07711 672893
Alison Puente, Yorkshire Bank, Tel. 0113 807 2701
Notes to Editors
Yorkshire Bank was founded in 1859 in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Today, the Bank has more than 190 branches, a strong personal customer base and a growing business capability in the North of England and the Midlands.
Yorkshire Bank is a trading name of Clydesdale Bank plc, which is a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group of companies. Yorkshire Bank joined the Group in 1990.
In 2006, Yorkshire Bank was voted the UK’s ‘Best Business Bank’ by the Forum of Private Business.
Yorkshire Bank Corporate & Structured Finance services:
Senior Acquisition Debt - Senior Term Debt, Stretched Senior Debt and Property Term Debt
Working Capital - Confidential Invoice Finance, Demand or Committed Overdraft and Specialist Trade and Project Finance
Specialist Asset Finance - where applicable HP and leasing facilities are available to fund the acquisition and refinance of assets as part of a wider transaction
Project Finance - allowing a deal to be structured from a long-term perspective, and tailored to match resulting project cashflows
Mezzanine Finance - available to provide even higher levels of support to proven management teams and business models.