ISIS backs £27m MBO at Onyx Group
ISIS Equity Partners has backed a management buyout at IT business Onyx Group in a £27m deal.
ISIS, which has large operations in Birmingham, now owns a majority stake in the company. It said it has now committed a further £15m of cash to fund strategic acquisitions with the aim of enhancing Onyx's geographical footprint.
Established in 1994, Onyx provides business continuity, cloud computing and datacentre services. It was recently listed in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 which monitors the fastest growing technology companies in the UK.
The company, which reported turnover of £14.9m in its most recent accounts, said it hoped to add to six acquisitions it has completed over the past few years.
"This is a milestone for Onyx which will greatly bolster our position as a leading provider of specialised IT provision within the data centre, business continuity and cloud space," said Onyx chief executive Neil Stephenson.
"It highlights the commitment and sheer hard work of our people in ensuring that Onyx continues to differentiate itself from competitors in the market through the development of bespoke IT solutions to meet the needs of businesses within very different, specific fields."
Mark Advani, who led the investment in Onyx on behalf of ISIS, added: "Technology is making off-site hosting of data easier and more cost effective.
"The Onyx management team has done a great job of building a diverse, high service level provider of data storage and business continuity services with its existing investors. We are looking forward greatly to helping them accelerate their growth whilst building upon their high touch, local service proposition."
Advisers on the deal included: Squire Sanders Hammonds – bank's legal advisers (Richard Morton); HSBC – senior debt (Tom Green and James Scholes); Addleshaw Goddard – legals (Yunus Seedat); Grant Thornton – corporate finance (Ian Marwood and Bridie Robinson): KPMG – financial due diligence (Richard Aston and Phil Abram); and Willis – insurance due diligence (Heulwen Samuel).
PwC provided tax and commercial due diligence advice.
