LONDON, UK: Oakley Capital Investments Limited announced that Oakley Capital Private Equity III and other co-investors have reached an agreement to sell their stakes in WebPros Group, a leading provider of web hosting automation software, to CVC Fund VII.

In addition, Oakley Capital IV will invest $200 million alongside CVC Fund VII as a minority partner to benefit from long-term growth opportunities and new product developments. OCI’s share of Fund IV’s investment is expected to be approximately £43 million.

Fund III originally invested in WebPros in 2017 and subsequently completed six acquisitions to create a product portfolio that addresses the full end-to-end customer lifecycle for shared hosting providers. The group now employs over 450 people across four continents and supports customers across the globe.

The sale to CVC Fund VII will generate a gross return on investment of 6.7x MM and c.140% IRR to Fund III, including previous distributions. OCI’s share of the proceeds will be approximately £110 million following this transaction, which represents an uplift of 26 pence per share to the Company’s NAV at 30 June 2019.

Fund IV’s investment in WebPros provides an opportunity for Oakley to continue its partnership with the management team and co-investors, and to benefit from the significant long-term growth potential in WebPros, through its extensive product roadmap. CVC Capital Partners brings a complementary skillset and deep relevant expertise to support the strategic vision of the business.

Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, commented: “The success of WebPros to date is the result of many features typical of an Oakley investment. A partnership with entrepreneurs we have backed before, a buy-and-build strategy which tackled a high degree of complexity and a sector in which we have deep experience. We would like to thank the team for all their hard work in bringing the group together and look forward to supporting the business in its next phase of growth alongside CVC.”

Leif Lindbäck, Senior Managing Director at CVC Capital Partners, added: “CVC has a proven track record of teaming up with entrepreneurs and like-minded investors to support and build better businesses. WebPros brings critical automation and security tools to hosting providers, web agencies and their customers. We look forward to partnering with Oakley Capital and working closely with the management team to continue building the leading global SaaS hosting platform for server management.”