Oakley Capital Investments’ Oakley Capital Private Equity III has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in TechInsights.
Fund III is expected to invest USD49.9 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 GBP18.2 million.
TechInsights specialises in the intellectual property and technology services market, in particular semiconductor reverse engineering, which is used to prove patent infringement and understand the technology behind everyday consumer electronics. Its customers include the top 10 semiconductor companies globally.
The investment thesis includes leveraging TechInsights’ extensive, proprietary technology database to accelerate growth in its subscription business, whilst maintaining its 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. USD45 million and EBITDA of USD12.6 million in 2016, on a pro-forma basis.
Peter Dubens, director of OCL, says: “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.”
