Strata advises Allocate Software plc (AIM: ALL) on the £9.0m acquisition of Dynamic Change Limited
Strata advises Allocate Software plc (AIM: ALL), the UK AIM listed workforce optimisation software company, on the £9.0m acquisition of Dynamic Change Limited, the UK-based Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS") provider of regulatory compliance, corporate governance, risk and performance management for the UK healthcare market.
Strata has acted as retained corporate finance advisers since August 2008 to assist Allocate with acquisitions. Strata has advised Allocate on three completed acquisitions (one cross-border and two in the UK) and Allocate`s market capitalisation has increased by over 75% to some £42 million as at May 2010.
Commenting on the Acquisition, Ian Bowles, CEO of Allocate, said: "With this Acquisition we continue to broaden Allocate`s application portfolio for the healthcare sector which will now include regulatory compliance corporate governance, risk and performance management. We will also gain domain expertise in Software-as-a-Service. We believe this is an attractive opportunity to achieve additional visibility in our top-line growth and increase our recurring revenue base".
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Strata advises Creativity Software Limited on Growth Capital Private Placement.
The funding round was led by MMC Ventures and was supported by existing shareholders. Creativity Software is one of the few providers of an LBS "one stop shop" suite of network infrastructure, middleware and end user applications, enabling mobile network operators to deploy revenue generating location-aware services. The company has experienced rapid growth throughout the recession and is now poised to increase its share of the growing market for products based on location information.
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Strata advises Newbury Racecourse plc (PLUS: NYR) on £6.4 million fully underwritten rights issue and successful rump placing.
Newbury Racecourse plc ("the Company"), advised by Strata, has successfully completed a £6.4 million rights issue, which was taken up by some 68 per cent. of the Company's shareholders. Unallocated shares (the "rump") were fully sold in a book-built process that introduced new investors to the Company at a 25 per cent. premium to the rights issue price, benefitting those existing shareholders who did not participate in the rights issue.
This transaction, the first ever rights issue on PLUS, required a Rule 9 Waiver as the holdings of the main shareholders, due to their joint underwriting obligations, could have exceeded the mandatory offer threshold. In the event, the successful placement of the rump meant that no shareholder held more than 29.9 per cent. of the Company on completion of the rights issue.
The Company owns and manages Newbury Racecourse, a site of some 300 acres approximately one mile from the town centre of Newbury. The proceeds from the rights issue have been used to strengthen the Company's balance sheet and overall financial position in advance of a major planned redevelopment project. On 27 January 2010, the Western Area Planning Committee of West Berkshire Council resolved to grant outline planning permission for this redevelopment.
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Strata Partners advises Whitfield Solar Limited on a £2.7 million private placement. The funding round was led by an undisclosed private syndicate of new investors and supported by existing investors Carbon Trust Investment Ltd, the Cascade Fund and Kilsby Ltd.
Whitfield Solar Limited, a spin-out from Reading University, has developed a low-cost platform to enable various cell technologies to be embodied in a range of photovoltaic concentrator (CPV) products for genuinely sustainable solar power generation. Whitfield's CPV units take the sun's energy and concentrate it, via an array of Fresnel lenses, onto a fraction of the surface area of various high-performance photovoltaic materials. Designed to be used in both large scale ground-based "solar farms" as well as smaller roof-top installations, this platform offers a number of advantages including low cost of manufacture, minimal weight, high scalability and robustness.
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Strata advises Veeda Clinical Research on the sale of Veeda Laboratories to ICON plc.
Strata Partners is pleased to announce the disposal of Veeda Laboratories Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Veeda Clinical Research Group to ICON plc , a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Veeda Laboratories is a specialist provider of biomarker laboratory services to global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
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Strata advises the shareholders of Simbec Holdings Ltd on the sale of Simbec Research Limited to Algorithme Pharma. Strata Partners is pleased to announce that Algorithme Pharma, based in Laval, Quebec, has acquired Simbec Research Limited, a Clinical Research Organisation (CRO). Simbec, which is based in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, will operate as Algorithme's European facility. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Commenting on the transaction, Brian Hallisey, Managing Director of Simbec, said: "The combination of Simbec Research and Algorithme Pharma offers great promise, both for our employees and our clients and we are delighted to be adding our Phase I expertise to Algorithme's existing capacity. Having established a strong business in the area of Clinical Research and Development we now look forward with confidence to a future as part of the enlarged Algorithme Pharma Group of companies".
Commenting on Strata's advisory services, Brian Hallisey added: "The sector understanding, senior attention and absolute commitment we received at all times from Strata set them apart from other corporate finance firms we have worked with".
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Strata advises The Capita Group Plc on the successful £77.7 million recommended cash offer for IBS OPENSystems Plc. Strata Partners advises Capita (LSE: CPI), the leading provider of business process outsourcing and professional support services on the successful £77.7 million recommended cash offer for IBS OPENSystems Plc (AIM: OPN). Capita, a FTSE 100 company, is quoted on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately £4.0 billion.
Commenting on the offer, Paul Pindar, Chief Executive of Capita, said: "IBS's customer base and range of products and services add to our existing offerings for local authorities and housing associations. This acquisition will give us greater breadth and depth of expertise with which to assist existing clients and attract new ones. In addition, we believe that our established strength in the UK outsourcing market will add further credibility and scale to IBS, allowing it to service a wider range of potential customers and projects."
Commenting on Strata's advisory services, Paul Pindar added: "Strata's highly professional and commercial approach delivered Capita a great result."
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Specialist ERP software. Strata Partners advises Solarsoft Acquisition Limited on the recommended $35 million cash offer for Chelford Group Plc (AIM: CHR). Solarsoft Acquisition Limited is a new company formed at the direction of Marlin Equity Partners, a US-based private equity firm. Following completion of the Offer, Solarsoft intends to combine Chelford's operations with the UK operations of Marlin's portfolio business, Solarsoft Business Systems.
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