Avvio sold to SHR backed by Serent Capital

We engaged Silverpeak early in two thousand twenty two, to run a process, but kind of a joint process to look at strategic buyers but also private equity. The transaction with Silverpeak was first envisaged as an exit for a number of shareholders of Avvio who’d been in place for many years and had reached the point where a return on their investment was felt as the best step forward for them. And so we went into the market and ran a competition to find the best partner for us. To do that shared disposal. We selected Silverpeak to represent us at the end of a very competitive process. And I think one of the things that really struck me and impressed me most about Silverpeak was the calibre of the entire team. You always know that the principles, within a business are gonna be strong, but the entire Silverpeak team seemed to be, you know, at a really high level, and I remember having met them being very happy with any one of those people representing Avvio. I’m Paddy MccGwire, Managing Partner of Silverpeak. We advise great European technology companies on M&A and larger fundraisings. The key thing is because Frank wanted to be able to play for another chapter, of the growth we found an outcome where he was able to reinvest into the buying company, because it was private equity owned and there was only one asset in the group. It met all the objectives that we set initially. Silverpeak approached the market by getting the story right before they spoke to anyone, you need to spend time with management team, getting the equity story right, making sure all of your documents are prepared, making sure your shareholders and interest groups are fully aligned, and they did all that. By getting that right, it meant that by the time they’re in the room with the eventual buyer, they were holding the right cards to drive the right price of the negotiation. We could discuss with them a variety of exits. So we talked about exit to PE. We talked about exit to trade. They understood the importance of getting an exit, but also we were really focused on finding a good home for the business. We wanted it to be integral to the industry in the way it had grown up. And also a good exit for the employees, and we feel really comfortable that Silverpeak understood that and helped us get a good balance between the financial, the people and the industry contribution. I remember how structured the Silverpeak approach was to the transaction. I always felt very informed and very updated. The net that Silverpeak threw into the market seemed to be much wider than I thought, which obviously, you know, really paid dividends for us at the end of the transaction. We had bids and offers on the business from across Europe, but particularly from North America, which was a market that I didn’t know very well. We were able to attract very interesting offers right across Europe and North America and ultimately settled with the North American buyer. One of the things I really liked was the depth and breadth of the Silverpeak team. There’s people there who understood the industry, both the retail, hospitality industry that we were in but also, more importantly, the SaaS industry, the tech industry, people who understood doing the transactions and the markets. So the European market, the UK market and the US market are really considerably different. Silverpeak represented the company extremely well, their professional take on everything they do presents the company as the client, in a very positive light. So the materials were good. The communication was strong and rapid, and I think it added to the overall polish that was put on Avvio by having Silverpeak advising them. Their straightforward approach and honesty in the transaction was very useful. Their ability to draw strategic value out of our story and reconfigure it in a way that the buyers were, could see that value and be attracted to it. And also just the personalities involved meant that it wasn’t just a grim slog. There was some fun along the way. It’s important you get on with them, but they were always professional. Always briefed. Always knew where they were taking a particular discussion. Had the answers we wanted before we asked them. So a very high quality team. I’ve worked with Silverpeak a number of times now, and we’re very happy to do so again. The sale of Avvio was a great success. The management team got what they wanted, which was an ability to roll over. The process was really cooperative such that at the end of it, you know, we’ve got great relationships going forward with Sean and Frank, and also Calculus and Richard there.