Press Release: Oakley Capital Investments Limited1 (AIM:OCL, the “Company”) is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Private Equity III2 (“Fund III”) has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in TechInsights. Fund III is expected to invest US$49.9 million in the business and will invest alongside Henry Elkington, the CEO of the current parent company (AXIO), who brings extensive experience in the industry and will become Chairman of TechInsights at completion. The Company’s indirect contribution through its interest in Fund III is expected to be approximately £18.2 million (GBP/USD = 1.29).
TechInsights is a global leader in the intellectual property and technology services market. The company has unparalleled capabilities in semiconductor reverse engineering, which is used to prove patent infringement and understand the technology behind everyday consumer electronics. Its customers, including the top ten semiconductor companies globally, rely on TechInsights’ highly skilled engineers and technical abilities, as well as its proprietary database of technical intelligence. TechInsights’ specialised workforce, proprietary equipment and extensive technical library create significant barriers to entry and reinforce its position as the specialist of choice to provide evidence of intellectual property use and competitive technical intelligence.
The investment thesis includes leveraging TechInsights’ extensive, proprietary technology database to accelerate growth in its subscription business, whilst maintaining its market leading position in project-based patent licensing work. TechInsights will be supported in further developing its subscription and syndicated data products by leveraging Oakley Capital’s experience in helping businesses develop their recurring revenue streams.
Following the merger with its main competitor (ChipWorks) in June 2016 TechInsights generated revenues of c. US$45 million and EBITDA of US$12.6 million in 2016, on a pro-forma basis.
Peter Dubens, Director of OCL, commented: “We are delighted to have reached agreement for an investment in a business of TechInsights’ quality and global reputation. We look forward to supporting Henry Elkington and the experienced management team in developing the business further, particularly by leveraging TechInsights unmatched know-how to grow the subscription and syndicated data product offering.”