Aureos Capital, a private equity fund management company, has sold a 13 per cent stake held by one of its funds in the Sri Lankan trading software company MillenniumIT to the London Stock Exchange Group.
The company has been acquired by the London Stock Exchange Group for USD30m.
MillenniumIT is a technology solutions provider serving the global capital markets industry. Its products are used by exchanges, depositories, brokerages and regulatory bodies in the US, Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific region.
Aureos, which specialises in investing in small to mid-cap businesses in emerging markets, has been an investor in MillenniumIT since it was formed in 1996 through the funding of its management buy-out of the Open Systems division of ComputerLand Sri Lanka.
The Aureos team that played a key role in advising on the MBO and providing subsequent strategic input was led by Sev Vettivetpillai (pictured), now chief executive of Aureos Advisers.
Aureos has held a seat on MilleniumIT’s board since 1996. This position was most recently filled by Nissanka Weerasekera, regional managing partner of Aureos South Asia, based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Aureos was also instrumental in helping to secure a second round of financing for MillenniumIT in 1999, enabling the company to fund the expansion of its global customer base.
Vettivetpillai says: “After 13 years of working closely with and supporting MillenniumIT we now look forward to watching its continued success under its new owners. The backing of the London Stock Exchange will help MillenniumIT extend its global franchise and build on its strong track record. This transaction is great news for MillenniumIT and will also help to raise the profile of the Sri Lankan software sector as a whole amongst global investors.”
