Private equity giant Accel-KKR has agreed a £207 million takeover of historic firm Eleco plc.
Eleco, founded in 1895, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since the start of World War II.
Early in this century it entered the built environment software market with a series of acquisitions and in 2013 divested its remaining building systems and precast concrete businesses, making it a software-focused group.
The offer from California firm Accel-KKR is for 235 pence in cash for each share, representing a 74.7% premium to Eleco’s closing price yesterday.
The acquisition values Eleco at approximately £207.6m on a fully diluted basis, and implies an enterprise value of £192.4m, a multiple of 20.2 times Eleco’s EBITDA for the 12 months ended 31st December 2025 and 31.9 times its cash EBITDA for the same period.
Eleco shareholders representing 45.2% of Eleco shares are supportive of the acquisition, it says, through irrevocable undertakings and letters of intent.
Headquartered in London, Eleco is a specialist international provider of software and related services to the built environment.
It operates through its operating brands Eleco, BestOutcome, Pemac and Eleco Technologies, from centres of excellence in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and the US.
The group’s software solutions are used throughout the building lifecycle, from early planning and design stages to construction, interior fit out, asset management and facilities management, supporting project management, estimation, building information modelling (BIM) and property management.
“Accel-KKR has for some time followed Eleco closely with great admiration and interest, and believes that, under the leadership of Jonathan Hunter, Neil Pritchard and the broader management team, and with the support of the Eleco board and shareholders, Eleco has transformed its business from its heritage in building and lighting equipment production to a technology business with a strong position in the building lifecycle technology market by providing a differentiated platform that serves stakeholders across the construction value chain,” stated Accel-KKR.
Eleco has also transitioned its business model from perpetual software licences to subscription and SaaS-based revenues while maintaining profitability.
Last year recurring revenues represented 81% of total revenues, annualised recurring revenue increased by 29% to £34.3m and the group delivered revenue growth of 20%. to £38.8m and adjusted EBITDA growth of 32% to £10.2m. It remains debt free with cash of £16.3m.
McLaren bucks UK auto industry trends with £450m tech investment
“All our colleagues and shareholders should be proud of these achievements,” said non-executive chair Mark Castle.
“Following the acquisition, the Eleco board believes that, with the support of Accel-KKR, Eleco will be better positioned to grow the business for the benefit of customers and colleagues.
“The Eleco board has unanimously concluded that they intend to recommend this offer, which provides a compelling return for our shareholders and is in the best interests of shareholders and wider stakeholders.”
Maurice Hernandez, a managing director of Accel-KKR, said: “Eleco has built a leading construction technology platform with a strong reputation among its customers through its domain expertise, and we look forward to partnering with the Eleco team to build on that foundation and support the company’s next phase of growth.”
Mike Norris: FTSE’s answer to Sir Alex Ferguson
The post Accel-KKR agrees £207m swoop for 131-year-old Eleco plc appeared first on BusinessCloud.
