£15.5m deal for Headland Media

HEADLAND Media, which supplies news and entertainment services, has been bought for £15.5m by US investor KVH Industries.

Headland, which sells content to the shipping, retail and hotel industries and has offices in Leeds and Liverpool, has been sold by Oakley Capital Investments.

It originally bought the business from BSkyB in 2008.

Oakley said the transaction provided a 2.7x gross return for the fund over the period of ownership, with an initial rate of return of 27%.

Oakley director Peter Dubens said: “Headland has been another successful investment for the limited partnership offering an attractive return to investors. The Oakley and Headland management team successfully completed a planned buy and build strategy, selling to a strategic buyer.

“It has been a pleasure for the Oakley team to work with the management of Headland, and we wish them continued success in the future.”

KVH Industries specialises in equipment that provides high speed internet, television and voice services via satellite to mobile users at sea, on land, and in the air.

Schofield Sweeney advised Oakley Capital and the incumbent management team on the disposal.

The Schofield Sweeney team was led by Chris Schofield, with support from Adrian Ballam, Sophia Leavett, Dominic Lush and John Feaster.

Squire Sanders’ London office advised KVH.

Schofield Sweeney senior partner Chris Schofield said: “Our corporate and commercial team worked hard to ensure the transaction was completed within a short time scale – an extremely successful result for all those involved.”