Partners Group Weighs Sale of U.K. Software Maker Civica

(Bloomberg) -- Partners Group Holding AG is considering a sale of U.K. software provider Civica Group, people familiar with the matter said.

The Zug, Switzerland-based asset manager is fielding pitches from potential advisers as it prepares for a potential exit from the business, according to the people. Civica could fetch at least 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) based on valuations from similar deals, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

Partners Group could start a sale process as soon as early next year if it decides to proceed, the people said. No final decisions have been made, and it could keep the business for longer, the people said.

London-based Civica, founded in 2002, provides specialist software, digital solutions and outsourcing services for governments, health-care providers, housing associations and schools. A representative for Partners Group declined to comment.

Civica generates around 100 million pounds of annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the people said. Acquisitions of European software companies announced over the past three years valued the targets at a median 15.6 times Ebitda, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Partners Group bought Civica from Canadian pension fund Omers’s private equity arm in 2017 for an enterprise value of more than 1 billion pounds, according to a statement at the time.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sarah Syed in London at ssyed35@bloomberg.net;Myriam Balezou in London at mbalezou@bloomberg.net;Dinesh Nair in London at dnair5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dinesh Nair at dnair5@bloomberg.net, Ben Scent, Giles Turner

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