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Bankers back Investcorp unit sale

London, July 1, 2013

Bankers are putting together around £300 million ($456.16 million) in debt financing to back a potential sale of Bahrain-based Investcorp's UK online payments services firm Skrill, banking sources said.

Investcorp Technology Partners, the bank's technology private equity arm, bought Skrill or Moneybookers as it was formerly called, for 105 million euros in March 2007, according to Thomson Reuters LPC (TRLPC) data.

Investcorp has hired Barclays to oversee the sale of the company, which is expected to fetch around £600m, and first-round bids are due July 9, bankers said.

Investcorp has unsuccessfully tried to exit the business on two prior occasions, first in 2009 through a £400 million sale TRLPC shows, and again in 2010 in a proposed flotation, bankers said.

Skrill's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was 55m euros in the year to April 2013, bankers said, having grown from £8.9 million in 2007, TRLPC data shows.

Skrill expanded through the acquisition of Austrian firm paysafecard.com for around 140 million euros in July last year.

The sale could attract a number of private equity firms, which are eager to do deals following a dearth of merger and acquisition so far this year.

Bankers are arranging debt packages of around £300 million or around 5.5 times Skrill's Ebitda, which will include a mixture of senior leveraged loans and junior debt such as high yield bonds or second lien loans denominated in sterling and euros, bankers said.

Lloyds and Credit Suisse are considering offering a staple financing package which gives would-be buyers confidence that financing is available to fund a deal, bankers said.

Skrill is available in 200 countries and territories, offering 100 local payment options and 40 currencies, according to Investcorp's website.-Reuters




Tags: banks | Investcorp | UK | skrill |

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