4Projects
4Projects Holdings Ltd has been bought by its management team, led by MD Richard Vertigan and finance director Steve Nelson, with the support of a private equity firm, August Equity LLP.
4Projects was previously a subsidiary of the Leighton media group, whose chairman Paul Callaghan was also chairman of 4Projects. In a departing statement, Callaghan says:
“No competitor operating in our sector would have been able to attract this level of investment” – a somewhat tendentious and ultimately meaningless claim as there is no mention in 4Projects’ news release of the value of the transaction (August Equity’s website simply says “MBO (undisclosed sum))“.
The new chairman is Stephen Edwards, described as “an experienced practitioner in the SME software space”, “introduced” by August Equity.
4Projects now has over 50 employees, and says it has “enjoyed healthy and profitable growth since inception, with a revenue model that has risen, month on month, for over 6 years”. As well as Edwards, Vertigan and Nelson, the management team includes: marketing director Duncan Mactear, commercial director Bernie Callaghan, operations director Neil Jarvis and UK sales director Jason Warde.
OpenCloud
OpenCloud Secures Significant £5 Million Investment.
Nokia Siemens Networks makes a £4 million investment complimented by an additional £1 million from existing investors.
Cambridge, UK, 8 September 2010 – OpenCloud Limited, the supplier of real-time application server software for next-generation convergent telecommunications services, has today announced that it has received an investment of £4 million from Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), one of the largest telecommunications hardware, software and services companies in the world plus an additional £1m from its existing investors Advent Venture Partners and No 8 Ventures.
In addition to the investment by NSN OpenCloud has secured an OEM agreement that will see OpenCloud’s Rhino Telecom Application Server and Service Interaction Server becoming integrated into NSN’s charge@once unified product suite - a modular, highly scalable and flexible convergent charging solution.
For the last two years, OpenCloud and NSN have enjoyed an increasingly successful working partnership securing 13 joint customers in that time.
The investment will be used by OpenCloud to further its expansion across the Globe. It will also allow OpenCloud to extend its partner and application portfolios, as well as assist in the development of future products. This announcement comes at a time when the market demand for OpenCloud’s Telecoms Application Server and Service Broker products is increasing.
In the last year, OpenCloud’s successful growth has exceeded projections. Revenues have tripled year-on-year and the company has acquired 13 customer wins in the last year alone. OpenCloud’s client roster includes some of the telecom industry’s biggest players, such as BT, Vodafone, and T Mobile amongst its customer base of over 30 mobile and fixed network telecom operators.
“We are continuing with our quest to open up the telecoms service layer, to provide compelling technology to the expanding community of telecoms software developers and deliver better value and increased innovation” says Jeff Gordon, CEO of OpenCloud. “Naturally, we are clearly delighted to be making this announcement – in particular receiving an investment from NSN is a strong endorsement of OpenCloud’s products and strategy, and it will help to support our continuing rapid growth. This move elevates our relationship with NSN to that of a truly strategic partner and will enable us to address the considerable Service Layer and Converged Charging opportunities in the market.”
“This investment will allow NSN to address the considerable Converged Charging and Service Delivery Platform opportunities in the market”, says Rick Centeno, head of Charging, Billing and Care, Nokia Siemens Networks. “We will be able to better provide our customers with an integrated offering to fit their end-to-end needs around service development, delivery, control and charging”.
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to OpenCloud.
Linksfield
Leading IT consultancy Northdoor has today announced the acquisition of Linksfield Technologies, an IT consultancy and software development company specialising in Microsoft technologies. The acquisition is the first during David Ballard’s tenure as CEO of Northdoor and further expands Northdoor’s presence in the financial services and professional services industries.
As a Microsoft partner accredited in Portals & Collaboration (Gold), Business Intelligence and Data Platform, Linksfield Technologies will not only complement but also advance Northdoor’s experience and expertise. The acquisition also adds a number of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, such as Financial SanctionsRegister (FSR) Checker, Key Facts Illustration and Document Vault, to Northdoor’s service portfolio. Linksfield clients include Burdale Financial, Huddle, Investec, Medivet, and the Stenham Group.
David Ballard, CEO of Northdoor, said:
“Northdoor has ambitious goals for expansion in 2012 and beyond. While we have consistently delivered organic growth, we continue to search for acquisition and partnership opportunities that will help us to exceed our targets. Linksfield Technologies not only has a great customer base but also a range of services and skills that are compatible with ours. We’re confident that this compatibility with our strengths in financial services will deliver value for Northdoor as well as Linksfield clients.”
“I am delighted that in Northdoor we have found a company which shares our belief in the value of independent thinking, born out of industry experience, creativity and practicality,” stated Stuart Elliston, Managing Director of Linksfield.
Linksfield was founded in 1999. The Linksfield team, based in London, is experienced in deploying a number of different software development methodologies, ranging from waterfall-based / SSADM approaches to the more modern agile methodologies, such as Extreme Programming and SCRUM.
Founders Larry and Jonathan Shapiro, who withdrew from day-to-day management of the business one year ago, will remain involved with the company on a consulting basis to ensure continuity of services to Linksfield customers. Speaking about the transaction, they stated: “We are delighted with the acquisition by Northdoor of the company we founded 12 years ago, and we feel this represents the next exciting step in Linksfield’s evolution for both our valued clients and our dedicated staff.”
Additional transaction details were not disclosed.
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to Linksfield.
Oasis Medical Solutions
Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX) announced the acquisition of privately-held Oasis Medical Solutions Limited, a London-based Patient Administration System (PAS) and health informatics solution provider. The Oasis™ PAS system, developed over 18 years in partnership with numerous NHS trusts, provides flexible, efficient and scalable administrative workflow across all venues of care. By combining the Oasis PAS technology with the Allscripts Sunrise clinical platform, Allscripts will offer a highly competitive, single-source offering for an innovative and advanced electronic patient record solution throughout the United Kingdom.
The Oasis PAS is used extensively across the NHS in more than a dozen NHS trusts and hospitals. Clients include East Sussex Healthcare, Royal Surrey County Hospital Trust, Medway NHS Foundation Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, among others. Oasis hospital clients average over 500 beds per facility, and the company has distinguished itself for its exclusive focus on PAS solutions for the NHS trusts that are innovative, effective, affordable and flexible.
Allscripts has a proven track record of success for clinical solutions, specifically the Allscripts Sunrise clinical electronic health record for inpatient and outpatient care management. Today, Sunrise is live at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as well as at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. In addition, Allscripts recently announced the opening of its European headquarters in Manchester, UK, committing additional resources to this important healthcare market.
By combining a leading PAS offering with its advanced clinical solution, Allscripts will provide the UK NHS trusts with the clear long-term advantages of integrated workflow between PAS and clinical solutions and the benefit of one business partner that provides a single-source electronic patient record to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery.
“The United Kingdom is an important growth market for Allscripts core clinical and PAS solutions,” said Richard Berner, President, Allscripts International. “A strong clinical offering combined with a highly regarded PAS provides a complete and proven solution to meet the critical long-term needs of the NHS Trusts. By acquiring Oasis, we believe we have optimised our position in the market and expect to drive significant value from this combination for our clients.”
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to Oasis Medical Solutions.
Massive Analytic
Founded in 2010, Massive Analytic is a venture-backed, highly innovative, pure-play SaaS company offering a unique enterprise big data analytics platform called Oscar Bao. The company has a global big data transformation programme heritage, including Thomson Reuters (master data management), Financial Times (digital content) and Centrica (smart meters).
The company currently has two London offices at the Farringdon Innovation Warehouse and Covent Garden. Headcount has reached eighteen across customer engagement, software development and operations.
Using a patented ground breaking Artificial Intelligence technology called artificial precognition and advanced machine learning designed to scale big data, Oscar Bao is an 'all-in-one' browser based analytics platform that automates data science, allowing users to perform advanced analytics in an interactive storydashboard. Recognizing the shortcomings of traditional solutions, Oscar Bao is the long anticipated big data analytics paradigm shift. It is designed to deliver exceptional outcomes for decision makers and data scientists from their big data in the shortest time possible, whether batch or streaming. Currently in beta, Oscar Bao is being piloted with Fortune 500 companies including in E-Commerce, Retail and Financial Services.
"The Regent team, led by James Calvert, has done an outstanding job in helping us to secure our second round funding. We are very grateful for their strategic advice which has helped us to position our business optimally. Regent has provided excellent documentation and clear understanding of our vision as well as providing continual support and access to its excellent network of contacts. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship.”
George Frangou, Founder and CEO, Massive Analytic.
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to Massive Analytic.
Widget
Widget, an award winning distributor of emerging technology based in the UK, Netherlands and Sweden has been acquired by value-added distributor CMS Distribution, strengthening CMS’s position in the European market.
Commenting on the acquisition, Frank Salmon, Founder and Managing Director of CMS Distribution said: “We are delighted to have teamed up with Widget Group, they are experts in emerging consumer technologies with an impressive portfolio of vendors in the UK and Europe. They have a large and loyal customer base and, like CMS, they are an award winning distributor in their field.” The decision to buy Widget Group was based on several inherent synergies between the two organisations, including growth plans, leverage, scale and a track record of success.
Following the acquisition, CMS Distribution will target combined revenues of £300m+ for FY’16 and now employs 250 people across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. CMS will continue to run the business under Widget Group’s brands for the foreseeable future and Widget’s leadership and management team will remain and continue to focus on the growth of the business.
Mark Needham, Founder and Chairman of Widget Group, commented: “It’s a great move for Widget as well as the vendors and customers we represent and the staff we employ. Being part of a larger, value-add distribution business brings tremendous opportunities for the future and we are excited by the next stage in the joint CMS-Widget journey.”
Frank Salmon concluded: “We are changing the game in IT Distribution. We are combining scale and specialisation for our vendors and customers both in the UK and Ireland and now across Europe. We are on track with our vision to become the leading specialist distributor in Europe.”
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to Widget.
DQM Group Holdings
DQM Group Holdings (DQM GRC) has announced that it has been acquired by GRC International plc, a leading supplier of IT governance, risk management and compliance products and services.
Formed in 1996 DQM GRC specialises in data protection and e-privacy compliance services, audit and data governance technologies to de-risk the use of data. The company has worked with many companies especially during the run up and post GDPR to support compliance programmes across all industry sectors including media, finance, retail, publishing, not-for-profit, marketing and advertising services.
The acquisition by GRC International will provide customers of both companies with a number of benefits including:
A one stop shop global supplier of governance, GDPR risk and compliance products and services, as legal, regulatory and commercial standards relating to these areas will become increasingly common across the world.
- An extended range of products and services which both companies can offer their respective clients.
- Enhanced account management.
- Software and compliance technologies.
- New product development.
Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Galdies, Founder and Director of DQM GRC said:
We are looking forward to becoming part of the GRC International Group and working with the GRC International team. Our existing offerings will complement GRC's products and services well and the opportunities for synergy creation and cross-selling, we believe, will significantly strengthen the future prospects for the Group.
Alan Calder, Chief Executive Officer of GRC International, said:
This strategic acquisition is another step forward in the growth strategy of GRC International, enabling us to capitalise further on the significant opportunities within the IT governance, risk and compliance market and to extend GRC's existing capabilities and the range of products and services we offer to our customers. DQM boasts market-leading expertise in data consultancy, an impressive customer base and unique solutions, providing us clear opportunities for cross-selling and upselling of our products and services. We look forward to welcoming DQM into the GRC International Group.
"Regent, led by Robert Fergusson, worked tirelessly to navigate us through the many complex issues which arose during the deal process and ensure we secured an excellent outcome for our staff and our shareholders." Peter Galdies, Founder and Director, DQM Group Holdings Limited.
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to DQM Group Holdings.