Private equity firms HgCapital Trust plc and Intermediate Capital Group PLC have agreed on a joint investment in IRIS Software Group Ltd. in a transaction pegging the British business software provider at an enterprise value of about £1.3 billion.
Under the deal, HgCapital's Hg6 Fund agreed to sell 100% of IRIS' share capital to the Hg Saturn Fund and ICG. HgCapital will invest about £37.5 million in IRIS through the Hg Saturn Fund, which supports software businesses valued at more than £1 billion.
HgCapital said the deal is the largest private equity-led buyout of a software company in the U.K. and the third-largest in Europe. It acquired IRIS in 2004, with the Hg6 Fund making its first investment in the software company in December 2011.
Meanwhile, ICG's co-investment in IRIS is the first deal under its new ICG European Fund VII, after winning the bidding process launched in March to become the joint investment partner. It has worked with HgCapital for investing in other software companies such as Norway's Visma AS and Italy's TeamSystem Holding SpA.
The deal, further details of which were not disclosed, is subject to regulatory approvals.
IRIS offers software and services to Britain's accountancy, education and business sectors, including book-keeping, payroll and human resources solutions.
