CaseWare announces strategic investment from Hg

RNS Number : 3601D

HgCapital Trust PLC

27 October 2020

 

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("HGT"), today announces an investment in CaseWare International Inc ("CaseWare"), a global leader in audit and assurance software.  Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

HgCapital Trust plc will invest approximately £38 million in CaseWare, with other institutional clients of Hg investing alongside HGT through the Hg Genesis 8 Fund.

HGT, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all Hg's investments.

Note that these figures only relate to HGTs share of Hg's overall investment in CaseWare.

HGT's liquid resources available for future deployment (including all announced transactions and the interim dividend payable in October 2020) are estimated to be £121 million (10% of the 31 August 2020 pro-forma NAV of £1.16 billion, including the increase in equity via tap equity issues over the third quarter of 2020). In addition, HGT has access to an £200 million standby facility, which is currently undrawn.

The investment will reduce HGT's outstanding commitments to invest in Hg transactions to approximately £682 million (59% of the 31 August 2020 pro-forma NAV).

CaseWare announces strategic investment from Hg

to accelerate growth of next generation audit and assurance cloud products

Toronto, Canada - -27 October 2020: Hg, a leading global software investor, today announces that it has made a strategic investment in CaseWare International Inc ("CaseWare"), a global leader in audit and assurance software. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

CaseWare is based in Toronto, Canada, and develops cutting-edge audit software solutions for accounting firms, corporations and governments. CaseWare's platforms - Working Papers and IDEA - aim to change the future of audit and audit analytics by adopting cloud technology as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning, enabling measurable returns on efficiency, quality and value, for customers and their clients. For over 30 years CaseWare has been a technology leader in the sector and has grown organically to over 500,000 users in 130 countries today, serving 16 different languages.

Hg will invest by acquiring a significant stake in the business, which will be made from the Genesis 8 Fund, and represents CaseWare's first ever institutional investment. Hg's investment and knowledge in global financial software businesses will help to support the company, particularly in accelerating the growth of CaseWare Cloud, which is already supported by more than a million audit engagements.

Earlier in the year Matt Dodds, previously General Manager of CaseWare IDEA, became CEO of CaseWare. Dwight Wainman and Maureen Naughton, Co-Founders and previously CEO and COO respectively, have moved to become Board members and remain significant shareholders in the business.

Dwight Wainman, Co-Founder of CaseWare, said: "We selected Hg as our partner in order to help us, our employees and our distributors to accelerate a shared vision of being the leading cloud Audit & Assurance software provider across the world. Hg's experience in business software and its partnership approach to its investments will allow us to realise the potential in our suite of cloud products, which we have been developing for the past 8 years, through further investment in our distributors and deepening our employee base."

Matt Dodds, CEO of CaseWare, said: "Hg's investment and significant experience in our sector comes at a very exciting time for CaseWare. Together with Hg, we are ready to accelerate the growth of our next generation audit and assurance cloud products, which will significantly benefit and enrich the experience of our customers. The investment will also help us to continue our sector expansion and implement other areas of value-creation and product development across the business. We welcome the team from Hg and are really excited about what the future holds."

Jonathan Boyes, Partner at Hg, said: "Dwight and Maureen, along with an amazing group of employees, have created a truly remarkable business. Very early on they saw the potential for cloud technology and, since starting the business over 30 years ago, have created a leading global enterprise in audit workflow and analytics software, with further runway to significantly grow the business. We are truly delighted that they have selected Hg as a partner to continue this work with them, Matt and the team, over the long-term."

Alexander Johnson, Principal at Hg, said: "Our experience in the Tax and Accounting technology space means we have known and admired CaseWare for many years. We've spent a long time getting to know the team over this time and we recognise the huge potential in the business. We are really excited to partner with them for the next phase of growth."

For further details:

Hg

Laura Dixon  [phone]

Brunswick

Samantha Chiene                                                                      [phone]

[e-mail]

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L), gives investors exposure through a liquid vehicle to a portfolio of high-growth private companies in the software and services sector. The selection of new investments and creation of value in these businesses are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com .

The contents of the Hg, HgCapital Trust and CaseWare's websites are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

 

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