LONDON: British building-lifecycle software company Eleco plc has agreed to a recommended all-cash takeover by Avocet Bidco Limited, a newly formed entity backed by private equity firm Accel-KKR, in a deal that values the company at approximately £207.6 million on a fully diluted basis.

Under the terms announced Thursday, Eleco shareholders will receive 235 pence in cash for each share held. The offer represents a 74.7% premium to Eleco’s closing price of 134.5 pence on Sept. 9, the last business day before the announcement.

The acquisition, which implies an enterprise value of £192.4 million, is roughly 20.2 times Eleco’s EBITDA for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, and 31.9 times its Cash EBITDA for the same period.

The deal is to be implemented through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006.

Eleco shares have limited daily trading liquidity on London’s AIM market. The company’s board said the cash offer provides shareholders a full realization of value that would otherwise be difficult to achieve without pressuring the share price.

“Following the acquisition, the Eleco board believes that Eleco will be better positioned to accelerate these investments for the benefit of customers and employees,” the board said, noting the rising pace of investment required in product innovation, cloud platforms and artificial intelligence across the software sector.

Eleco directors, advised by Stephens as to the financial terms, unanimously consider the offer fair and reasonable and intend to recommend that shareholders vote in favor. Directors holding roughly 0.5% of existing shares have irrevocably committed to support the deal.

Shareholders representing 45.2% of Eleco shares have signaled support through irrevocable undertakings and letters of intent.

Accel-KKR, a global private equity firm with more than $23 billion in cumulative capital commitments, said it has followed Eleco closely and believes it can support the company’s product development, SaaS transition and AI implementation through additional resources and capital.

Bidco said it does not intend to make any material reduction to Eleco’s headcount, changes to employment conditions, or alter the balance of skills and functions of employees and management. It also confirmed that existing contractual and statutory employment rights, including pensions, will be fully safeguarded.

Eleco, headquartered in London, provides software and related services to the built environment, operating brands including Eleco, BestOutcome, Pemac and Eleco Technologies from centers in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and the U.S. Its software has been used on projects including The Shard and the V&A Museum in London, the Warsaw Metro extension and Hong Kong International Airport.

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, Eleco reported revenue of £38.8 million, up 20% from £32.4 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA of £10.2 million, up 32%. Recurring revenue represented 81% of total revenue. The company had cash of £16.3 million and no debt.

In a July 2026 trading update for the first half of the year, Eleco reported annualized recurring revenue of approximately £35.5 million at June 30, up 16%, with organic annualized recurring revenue up about 23%. Total revenue rose 8% to approximately £19.9 million.

Bidco reserved the right to reduce the offer price by the amount of any dividend or distribution announced or paid before the acquisition becomes effective.

Eleco’s interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2026, are expected to be released Sept. 15.

Mark Castle, the Non-Executive Chair of Eleco, said: “Eleco has successfully transformed from a building products business to a specialist provider of software and related services to the built environment. Alongside this business transformation, Eleco has successfully transitioned its business model from perpetual software licences to subscription and SaaS-based revenues while maintaining profitability. All our colleagues and shareholders should be proud of these achievements.

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.”