Oakley agrees sale of atHome

RNS Number : 8225D

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

24 February 2020

 

24 February 2020

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Oakley agrees sale of atHome to Mayfair Equity Partners

· Proceeds: OCI's share of proceeds will be approximately £15 million

· NAV increase: The sale results in an uplift of 3 pence on the NAV per share at 31 December 2019

Oakley Capital Investments Limited ¹ (the "Company" or "OCI") is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Private Equity III ² ("Fund III") has reached an agreement to sell a majority stake in atHome Group ("atHome"), a leading online classifieds and mortgage broking business in Luxembourg, to Mayfair Equity Partners ³ ("Mayfair"), a U.K. based buyout and growth capital investor . Following the transaction, Fund III will retain a minority stake in the business.

Fund III originally invested in atHome in 2017, as part of the acquisition of a portfolio of classifieds businesses, which comprised Casa.it in Italy and atHome.lu in Luxembourg. Under Oakley's ownership, atHome has successfully consolidated its leading market position in its core property classifieds market, whilst expanding into mortgage broking and automotive classifieds through strategic bolt-on acquisitions. Over the three years of Oakley's investment, atHome has increased EBITDA by over 80% and its websites are among the most visited in Luxembourg.

OCI's share of proceeds from this transaction will be approximately £15 million (EUR:GBP 1.19). The sale represents an uplift of 3 pence to the Company's NAV per share at 31 December 2019.

Following the transaction, Fund III will retain its stake in Casa, which continues to benefit from the growth in the Italian online property classifieds sector, as well as a minority stake in atHome. The partnership with Mayfair and the existing management team will allow Fund III to participate in the future growth of atHome as it continues to expand on its market leading offering to consumers and customers, and deliver growth across its core property, mortgage and automotive verticals.

Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, commented:

"We would like to thank Soufiane Saadi and his team for their hard work in developing the atHome Group over the past three years. We very much look forward to working with them, and with Mayfair, to drive further growth in the future."

- ends -

For further information please contact:

Oakley Capital Limited

[phone]

Steven Tredget, Investor Relations

Greenbrook Communications Limited

[phone]

Alex Jones / Gina Bell / James Williams

Liberum Capital Limited (Financial Adviser & Broker)

[phone]

Gillian Martin / Owen Matthews

Smithfield Group (Communications adviser to Mayfair Equity Partners)

[phone]

Charles Harrison / Ed Brown

Notes:

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

LEI Number: 213800KW6MZUK12CQ815

¹  About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCI")

OCI is a Specialist Fund Segment ("SFS")  traded investment vehicle, which provides access to the Oakley Funds². It is a liquid vehicle that aims to provide capital growth and dividends to investors.

² The Oakley Funds

Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. and its successor funds, Oakley Capital Private Equity II, Oakley Capital Private Equity III and Oakley Capital IV, are unlisted mid-market private equity funds with the aim of providing investors with significant long-term capital appreciation. The investment strategy of the funds is to focus on buy-out opportunities in industries with the potential for growth, consolidation and performance improvement.

The Investment Adviser

Founded in 2002, Oakley Capital Limited has demonstrated the repeated ability to source attractive growth assets at attractive prices. To do this it relies on its sector and regional expertise, its ability to tackle transaction complexity and its deal generating entrepreneur network.

³ Mayfair Equity Partners

Mayfair Equity Partners is a buyout and growth capital investor providing capital to dynamic businesses in the TMT and Consumer sectors. Its primary focus is on building strong partnerships with exceptional management teams. Mayfair is an investor in OVO Energy, a high-growth tech-enabled challenger brand in the energy space, YO!, a multi-brand multi-channel sushi platform with operations across the UK, Canada and the US, SuperAwesome, a global high-growth digital marketing business whose technology platform enables brands and agencies to deliver kid-safe digital advertising to under-thirteen audiences and Pixomondo, the VFX house behind the Emmy-winning HBO series Game of Thrones and the Oscar-winning 2011 film Hugo, as well as seven other promising growth businesses.

Important information

Specialist Fund Segment securities are not admitted to the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority. Therefore the Company has not been required to satisfy the eligibility criteria for admission to listing on the Official List and is not required to comply with the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules. The London Stock Exchange has not examined or approved the contents of the Prospectus.

The Specialist Fund Segment is intended for institutional, professional, professionally advised and knowledgeable investors who understand, or who have been advised of, the potential risk from investing in companies admitted to the Specialist Fund Segment.

 

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