Epiris agrees sale of Elian to Intertrust for £435 million

POSTED 06 June 2016

Epiris is pleased to announce that, on behalf of Electra Private Equity PLC (“Electra”), it has agreed to sell Elian to Intertrust Group N.V. for £435 million. The transaction is subject to, inter alia, regulatory and Intertrust Group N.V. shareholder approvals.

Following completion of the transaction, which is expected during the third or final quarter of 2016, Electra is expected to receive total proceeds of c.£200 million, an uplift of £41 million or 26% and equivalent to an increase in NAV of 83 pence per share, on the valuation of the investment at 31 March 2016. This equates to a return of c.2.6x original cost, and an anticipated IRR of c.50%.

Elian is a leading provider of offshore trust and corporate services employing over 600 people. It is headquartered in Jersey and has operations in 14 other jurisdictions serving 3,000 corporate, financial institution, investment fund and private clients worldwide.

Epiris led the buyout of Elian from the Ogier Group in June 2014 and have worked closely with the management team to accelerate the growth of the business through new business development, expanding the business internationally, focusing on operational excellence and M&A. 

Chris Hanna, Partner at Epiris, said:

“Since leading the buyout of the business in June 2014 we have successfully delivered on our ambition to develop the business through an increased commercial focus, geographical expansion and making a number of value enhancing acquisitions. Today’s announcement represents the culmination of the hard work that Elian’s management and Epiris have put into creating a more diversified and high-performance business.”

Paul Willing, CEO of Elian, said:

“Elian has been transformed since 2014. Epiris’ input not only on M&A but also in accelerating organic earnings growth has been absolutely essential in this development and has enabled Elian to achieve its strategic objectives several years ahead of our initial plan.”

Alex Fortescue, Managing Partner at Epiris, said:

“This is an excellent example of Epiris’ investment strategy in action. We bought a high quality asset well in a complex transaction, and have since worked closely with management to grow and reposition the business, making it a highly attractive acquisition for a strategic buyer. This exit, when completed, will reinforce Epiris’ outstanding performance track record.”

Chris Hanna and Ian Wood are responsible for the investment and the exit of Elian.

The shareholders of Elian were advised by Lazard, Clifford Chance, Macfarlanes and PWC.

This continues a busy year for Electra, which has seen realisations or agreements to sell of more than £400 million and new investments or commitments to invest of over £200 million. Realisations announced since October include the agreement to sell Kalle, the exits of Daler-Rowney, MIMS and Zensar Technologies and the proceeds from the refinancing of the Park Resorts Group at the time of its merger with Parkdean Holidays. New investments and commitments to invest include the buyouts of Photobox Group and Grainger Retirement Solutions, the acquisition of Bowlplex by The Original Bowling Company and investments in two CLOs.

Epiris refers to Epiris LLP acting on behalf of its client Electra Private Equity PLC.

Ends

For further information please contact:

Andrew Honnor, Matthew Goodman, Matthieu Roussellier, Greenbrook Communications
+44 (0)20 7952 2000

Nicholas Board and Andrew Kenny, Epiris
+44 (0)20 7306 3902

Note to Editors:

About Epiris LLP
Epiris is an independent private equity fund manager with over 25 years' experience. During this time it invested in excess of £4.7 billion in over 200 deals. As at 31 March 2016, the firm had funds under management of £2 billion including capital available for investment of £400 million.

Epiris’ flexible investment strategy allows it to invest broadly across the private equity market with a particular focus on Buyouts and Co-investments, Secondaries and Debt. In addition to this, its long-term capital base means it is not constrained by expiring investment periods or exit pressure driven by fund raising cycles and is therefore able to realise investments only when returns are maximised for its investors.

The firm's major client is Electra Private Equity PLC (“Electra”), a private equity investment trust which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1976. Electra’s long-term investment performance has been consistently superior to private equity and other benchmarks. Over the ten years to 31 March 2016, Electra has seen diluted NAV per share growth of 228%. This is more than seven times the NAV per share return of the Morningstar Private Equity Index (ex. Electra). It is also equivalent to a ten-year annualised return of 13%, in the upper part of Electra’s target range of 10-15% over the long-term.

For further information please visit www.electrapartners.com.

Epiris LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

About Elian
Elian is a specialist in capital market solutions; private equity, real estate and fund administration; corporate services; private client solutions, Elian has a clear, uncompromising vision: to continually deliver more value by raising the bar in trust and corporate services.

Elian works with global law firms and accountancy firms, multi-national corporations, financial institutions, fund managers, high net worth individuals and family offices and believes that the best can always be better.

With over 600 professionals across a network of 15 international offices, covering a wide range of time zones and key financial centres, Elian is expert in handling large, demanding and complex engagements. From its technical skills and market understanding, to the personalised service given to clients, Elian is always looking to set new industry standards by challenging standard practice.

Elian’s network of offices comprises of Amsterdam, Bahrain, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dublin, Frankfurt, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan and Tokyo.

For further information please visit www.elian.com