Alito acquisition secures successful exit for Finance
Wales
04/04/08
The acquisition of strategic procurement solutions firm Alito UK
Ltd of Bridgend, South Wales, by specialist spend control software
company Proactis has resulted in a successful equity realisation
for Finance Wales.
Alito was acquired in a £3.25 million deal by Proactis Holdings
PLC, an AIM listed company, enabling Finance Wales, Alito’s
management team and individual private shareholders to realise
their equity investments. The initial consideration of £1.5 million
could be supplemented with a further £1.75 million dependent on
future performance.
Alito, which has developed a software application – Alito
Procurement - focused at providing a strategic technology enabler
for enterprise level procurement process transformation and risk
management, had received a £400,000 equity investment from Finance
Wales in March 2005.
The acquisition will see Finance Wales exit with an immediate gain
and further upside provided via the deferred consideration
dependent on Alito’s performance in the year ending 31st March
2008. In the past 12 months the company had turnover of £1million
and posted an operating profit of £150,000.
Paul Lee, Investment Manager, Finance Wales, said: “This is a
significant exit for Finance Wales, endorsing our commitment to
supporting innovative, high growth Welsh companies. Alito had
developed and brought to market a unique product capable of
generating significant savings for organisations procuring services
from a large number of suppliers.
“The product’s potential has been demonstrated as more than 40
local authorities have purchased it to help them control and
streamline their electronic procurement processes.”
He added: “Finance Wales’ investment supported Alito’s growth at a
critical time in its development. The acquisition by Proactis has
confirmed Alito’s competitive position within the market and will
secure its future growth potential.
“Our divestment of Alito is Finance Wales’ fourth trade sale to
listed companies from our Equity portfolio, and comes in a month
where we also completed the successful listing on AIM of another of
our investee companies.”
The Alito Procurement suite of products provides one of the most
comprehensive solutions available in the market today and is
focused at reducing cost inherent in the procurement process for
goods and services through effective management of risk and
resource.
The acquisition by Proactis will provide synergies for both
companies enabling the delivery of a truly end-to-end procurement
solution incorporating both strategic and operational facets of the
procure-to-pay process. Proactis is a leading provider of spend
control software. Proactis solutions are used in over 140
organisations in the UK in commercial, public and not-for-profit
sectors.
Gareth Kempson, Managing Director of Alito, said the investment
from Finance Wales was key to enabling the controlled manageable
growth of the company. “The investment from Finance Wales enabled
Alito to secure the resource, skill and infrastructure required to
support its effective growth and development. It would have been
considerably more difficult without their help and support.”
Rod Jones, Chief Executive of Proactis, said: “Alito is another
excellent purchase for Proactis, fulfilling all our investment
criteria. It has a strong business pipeline, a stable maintenance
revenue stream and a strong customer base which can be incorporated
easily to the Proactis solution. Alito is an excellent brand and
will enhance our access to the public sector.”
Alito’s shareholders were advised by Geraint Rowe and Andy Charter
of Gambit Corporate Finance and Jayne Aspell of Aspell and Co.