Listed software supplier sold for £12m
The sale of Sheffield-based listed firm Electronic Data Processing (EDP) to Eagle Bidco 2018 for £12m has completed.
The boards of EDP and Eagle Bidco 2018 reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer in July. The acquisition was sanctioned by the High Court last week and has completed today.
Based in Sheffield, EDP supplies software to the merchanting and wholesale distribution industry. The company, which has a market cap of £11m, also has sites in Runcorn and East Grinstead, with a hosting centre in Milton Keynes.
Eagle Bidco is a newly incorporated company owned by Kerridge Commercial Systems Group (KCS), a provider of specialist software, services and support to trade, wholesale, manufacturing, field service and distribution customers, which employs over 650 staff.
During the past eight years KCS has grown rapidly, both organically and through the acquisition of a number of businesses, to extend its geographical reach, add product capability and extend into adjacent vertical markets. The company now serves over 10,000 customers across Europe, South Africa and the United States.
Ian Bendelow, Chief Executive at KCS said: “The acquisition of EDP is a great opportunity to accelerate our strategy. It brings us greater presence in the UK and an increased platform for growth in our traditional markets. EDP is a high quality business with customer offerings that are highly complementary to KCS. We welcome EDP employees to the group and look forward to working with them.”
Sir Michael Heller, Non-Executive Chairman of EDP said: “The EDP and KCS businesses have been good competitors for many years, addressing the needs of customers in the same vertical markets. Accordingly the EDP directors believe that KCS’ activities provide a stron fit with those of EDP and that KCS is an appropriate partner to continue the development of the EDP business. The additional resources that KCS will bring will mean that it is well positioned and resourced to support EDP and the future growth of the EDP business.”
The Sheffield-office of law firm Irwin Mitchell advised EDP on the sale. The completed sale will see EDP retain its main office in Sheffield. The enlarged group’s headquarters will be located at KCS Group’s head office in Hungerford.
The group is backed by private equity business Accel-KKR and has offices in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, the Netherlands and North America.
Irwin Mitchell’s Corporate team in Sheffield, led by partner Laurence Gavin, advised EDP on the deal.
