Acquisitive software firm completes £6.8m swoop for SaaS business

Listed Nottingham software firm Ideagen has snapped up a West Sussex-based Software as a Service (“SaaS”) company in a deal worth up to £6.8 million.

Workrite boasts around 500 customers including the London Stock Exchange, Panasonic, Kings College London, The Law Society and Credit Suisse. Its SaaS-based e-learning platform for the occupational health and safety market will become a key component of Ideagen’s cloud proposition following the acquisition.

The company currently generates £1.7 million in revenues, and Ideagen says it will contribute an additional £700,000 of EBITDA in the first full year of ownership.

An initial cash consideration of £6 million, funded by Ideagen’s cash reserves and existing debt facility, was paid on completion. A further payment of £800,000 will be made on the first anniversary of the deal if certain business objectives are achieved.

Ideagen also says it has extended its debt facility from £28 million to £40 million to fund further acquisitions.

David Hornsby, executive chairman of Ideagen, said: “We are delighted to announce our third acquisition of the year. Workrite is highly complementary to Ideagen and in line with our strategy of acquiring businesses that have strong IP and recurring revenues. EHSQ is a valuable yet fragmented market and the acquisition will further enhance our market position providing a leading e-learning solution for new and existing customers.”