Hg agrees sale of Radius to Vistra

RNS Number : 1929M

HgCapital Trust PLC

26 April 2018

 

HgCapital Trust Plc

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("the Company"), today announces the sale of Radius to Vistra, one of the world's leading corporate service providers of international incorporations, trust, fiduciary, and fund administration services. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Company, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all Hg's investments.

The Company will realise estimated cash proceeds of approximately £18.8 million on completion of this transaction. This would represent an uplift of £2.9 million (18%) or 8 pence per share over the carrying value of £15.9 million in the Net Asset Value ("NAV") of the Company at 31 March 2018.

Based on the 31 March 2018 reported NAV (adjusted to provide for the final dividend and including all transactions announced to date and the resulting revaluation of the carried interest provision), the pro-forma NAV of the Trust is expected to be £708.1 million (or 1,897.2 pence per share). The Company's liquid resources available for future deployment (including all announced transactions and after payment of the final dividend on 27 April 2018) are estimated to be £146 million (21% of the pro-forma 31 March 2018 NAV). In addition, the Company has access to a £80 million standby facility, which is currently undrawn.

Hg agrees sale of Radius to Vistra

26 April 2018. Hg today announces the sale of Radius to Vistra, one of the world's leading corporate service providers of international incorporations, trust, fiduciary, and fund administration services.  The terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

Radius provides tailored solutions for fast growing companies that are looking to expand into international markets. With more than 500 clients operating in 80 countries around the world, Radius eases and enables the process of international expansion by setting up required international entities then integrating a company's legal, accounting, payroll, tax and human resources services. Headquartered in the US, Radius now has over 880 employees based in Boston, with offices in San Francisco, Bedford (Massachusetts), Estero (Florida), Mumbai, Indore (India), London, Bristol (United Kingdom), Singapore, Beijing, São Paulo and Amsterdam.

Hg's Services team has previously identified accountancy and trust/administrative services as a core sector and this sits within Hg's wider focus of partnering with technology-enabled companies. Radius is a leader in a highly fragmented sector with significant growth potential, a growing client base and a high degree of recurring revenue.

Hg has worked with the company to strengthen the management team, develop its proprietary technology, undertake M&A opportunities, identify and acquire new talent, support integration and build stronger sales capabilities to fuel continued growth.

The combination of Radius and Vistra, backed by Baring Private Equity Asia ("BPEA"), enables the company to continue this trajectory and benefit from the large-scale network, customer base and product capabilities that Vistra brings.

Nick Luckock, Partner at Hg, said: "We have joined Radius in its journey to become global growth experts since 2013 and have been delighted to work with Stephen and his team to build a company with unrivalled expertise and global coverage. As the company moves forward to the next stage of its growth, we wish them well as part of Vistra."

Stephen Chipman, CEO at Radius, said: "I would like to thank Hg for being a great partner as we developed Radius into a leading provider of international expansion services for US-based companies. Nick and his team had a transformative impact on our business. We are thrilled to join Vistra, whose expertise and global coverage joined with our own capabilities will allow us to become the market leader in international expansion services."

Martin Crawford, CEO of Vistra, said: "By combining Radius and Vistra's international expansion services businesses we are significantly growing our expertise and global coverage. Our leading teams on-the-ground in key markets and proprietary technology mean we can deliver the best outcomes for clients as they expand internationally. We warmly welcome Stephen and his team to the Vistra family."

Jefferies International Limited acted as financial adviser to Radius and Hg. Skadden also advised on the transaction.

For further details:

Hg

Laura Dixon

[phone]

Maitland 

Vikki Kosmalska and Seda Ambartsumian

[phone]

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc is an investment trust whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L). The Company is a client of Hg, giving investors exposure to a portfolio of high-growth private companies, through a liquid vehicle. New investments and existing portfolio companies are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com .

Neither the contents of HgCapital Trust's, Hg's, Radius', Vistra's or Baring Private Equity Asia's websites nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the websites (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

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