Hg invests in Litera Microsystems

RNS Number : 1171Y

HgCapital Trust PLC

07 May 2019

 

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("the Company"), today announces that it plans to invest in Litera Microsystems ("Litera"), a leading provider of end-to-end document lifecycle solutions to the legal and life sciences industries worldwide, headquartered in Chicago. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

HgCapital Trust plc will invest approximately £32.1 million in Litera, with other institutional clients of Hg investing alongside the Company through the Hg Genesis 8 Fund.

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.

Note that these figures only relate to HgCapital Trust's share of Hg's overall investment in Litera.

Based on the 31 March 2019 NAV, the Company's liquid resources available for future deployment, including all announced transactions and the dividend paid on 30 April 2019, are estimated to be £88 million (11% of the pro-forma 31 March 2019 NAV of £790.7 million). In addition, the Company has access to an £80 million standby facility, which is currently undrawn. The investment will reduce the Company's outstanding commitments to invest in Hg transactions over the next two to three years to approximately £354 million.

Hg invests in Litera Microsystems

Transaction will be Hg's sixth legal and compliance business in the current portfolio

7 May 2019. Hg announces today that it will invest in Litera Microsystems ("Litera"), a leading provider of end-to-end document lifecycle solutions to the legal and life sciences industries worldwide, headquartered in Chicago. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg is a specialist private equity investor focused on software and service businesses, committed to building businesses that change the way we all do business, through deep sector specialisation and dedicated operational support.

Litera has developed a leading suite of legal document productivity applications, delivered as an end-to-end platform to more than 1,300 organisations across the globe. Based in Chicago, New York and London, Litera provides a suite of best-in-class productivity tools that help customers to focus on what matters: creating the highest quality documents.

The investment in Litera follows one of Hg's core investment theses, focused on the secular growth of software suppliers for business-critical functions in the legal and regulatory compliance sector. Hg has been actively following this theme for over 15 years, with Litera representing the sixth legal and compliance business currently in Hg's portfolio, with others including STP, a leading provider of insolvency and law practice software in Germany; and Mitratech, a leading global provider of Enterprise Legal Management ('ELM') software to corporate legal departments, based in Austin, Texas.

Hg's team has known Litera for several years, recognising it as a business solving mission-critical workflows for its customers, leading to strong recurring revenues and displaying the same growth characteristics as many others in the Hg portfolio. The investment will be made from Hg's Genesis 8 Fund which, following the completion of this transaction, will be 54% invested across 7 software and service businesses.

Ben Meyer, Jean Baptiste Brian and Hector Guinness at Hg, said: "We have been very impressed with Litera's great track record of delivering innovative products that change the way legal professionals work, with an unmatched record of excellent customer support and satisfaction. We look forward to working closely with Avaneesh and his team to continue the success of this company".   

Avaneesh Marwaha, CEO of Litera, said: "Over the last few years, Litera has experienced great success in creating a platform for long term growth.  As we looked for the next partner to align the business with, Hg stood out.  Leveraging Hg's support and their experience in software, legal, life sciences and global expansion will enable Litera to reach new levels of success with confidence, whilst also allowing us to further invest in our people and culture. We look forward to partnering with Hg and developing new products and capabilities to continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers."

Hg were advised by Evercore (M&A), EY (Financial & Tax), Deloitte (Financing), PWC (Commercial) and Skadden (Legal). Litera were advised by William Blair.

For further details:

Hg

Laura Dixon                                                                                                              [phone]

Brunswick

Chris Blundell and Joe Shipley                                                                              [phone]

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L), gives investors exposure through a liquid vehicle to a portfolio of high-growth private companies in the technology and tech-enabled sector. The selection of new investments and creation of value in these businesses 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.

The contents of the Hg, HgCapital Trust and Litera Microsystems' websites and any website accessible from hyperlinks on such websites (or any other website) are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

 

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