LONDON: Bridgepoint Advisers and Eckoh have agreed on terms for a recommended cash acquisition of Eckoh’s entire share capital by Bridgepoint’s Bidco.

Eckoh shareholders will receive 54 pence per share, valuing the company at approximately £169.3 million. This offer represents a premium of 11.34% to the closing price on August 21, 2024, and higher percentages to earlier dates.

The acquisition implies an enterprise value of approximately £161.8 million and a 15.9x multiple of Eckoh’s adjusted EBITDA for the year ended March 31, 2024. Expected to be carried out through a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement, this acquisition offers an attractive premium and full value for Eckoh according to its directors.

Bridgepoint views Eckoh as a leading provider of secure payments and customer engagement software, with a strong management team and differentiated positioning in a niche market. The sector is expected to benefit from tailwinds, including continued investment in technology, the rise of omnichannel interactions and the growing need to protect sensitive data.

Bridgepoint believes that with the right additional investment, Eckoh will be well-placed to succeed. Bridgepoint will help unlock Eckoh’s potential through geographic expansion, product innovation and expansion and targeted acquisitions – enabling Eckoh to grow its customer base and drive long-term profitable growth.

Bridgepoint is confident in the future prospects of Eckoh’s business but believes that these will be optimised under private ownership, where Eckoh’s management will have greater flexibility to execute and accelerate their investment strategy with a supportive majority shareholder more aligned with their long-term vision.

Eckoh is a leader in data security solutions that protect customers’ data when they engage with organisations through their customer contact centres. With a 20-year history in contact centre technology, Eckoh’s products address a key security gap in contact centre processes, protecting customer payment and personal data across all communication channels and assisting clients in complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”) and other data protection regulations.

Eckoh’s solutions are used by over 200 enterprise clients, primarily based in the U.S. and the UK, who operate customer-facing contact centres across retail, insurance, healthcare, travel, telco and financial services sectors and who need to protect personal customer data and payment information.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Alan Payne, Partner and Deputy Head of Bridgepoint Development Capital, said: “This offer represents a strong premium and allows Eckoh shareholders to realise attractive value. Eckoh is an international leader in a niche software sector and at the cutting edge of customer engagement technology, and we are real admirers of the platform.

There is a growing need for businesses to establish secure customer payment solutions as new contact channels, payment methods and compliance regulations emerge and customer requirements evolve. Eckoh is driven by a mission to make the world more secure, and we are excited to work alongside Eckoh’s management team to accelerate development into a scaled, global leader, further strengthening the capability and offering for customers. Bridgepoint has strong experience in supporting leading software companies and businesses operating in the wider payments market, and we will bring to bear the full range of our platform and deep sector expertise to support Eckoh’s growth.”

Commenting on the Acquisition, Nik Philpot, CEO of Eckoh, said: “Over the past decade Eckoh has established itself as a global leader in Customer Engagement Data Security. We’re trusted by over 200 enterprises to solve a very significant mass market problem – keeping their customer’s data private and secure when transacting with them in a virtual arena – and we can do this via any engagement channel the customer chooses. Our team has been making excellent progress where we see the biggest opportunity for growth, with momentum building in North America, but we need to accelerate investment in our product roadmap and our go-to-market strategy to drive forward important initiatives and to capitalise on the opportunity.

This continued investment requirement comes against a backdrop of larger enterprise opportunities bringing more complex and longer sales cycles that are harder to predict from a timing perspective. Working together with Bridgepoint we believe we can make faster progress towards our mission to make the world more secure and to set the standard for secure interactions between consumers and the world’s leading brands.”