CPA Global

Scientific liquid measuring equipment

2.9x

Multiple of original cost of sale

CPA Global, a leading intellectual property management company was sold by Cinven in August 2017 generating proceeds for ICG Enterprise Trust of £11m.

Key Stats

  • Proceeds received on sale: £11m
  • Uplift to carrying value: 44%
  • Underlying manager: Cinven
  • Date realised: August 2017
Strong growth through geographic expansion

CPA Global is a leading global provider of intellectual property software, services and data and analytics for companies and law firms. The company manages more than two million patents for more than 10,000 customers across the globe. It has 23 offices worldwide and operates from its headquarters in Jersey, Channel Islands.

Cinven acquired CPA Global in March 2012 for c. £950m. The investment formed part of Cinven’s strategy of investing in world-class European companies where it could support global growth using its sector expertise and its experience of driving geographic expansion. CPA Global was a company well known to ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT), having originally invested in the business in 2010 through its holding in ICG European Mezzanine IV. In 2012, ICGT co-invested alongside Cinven as well as having exposure to the business through its commitment to the Fourth Cinven Fund. 

Under Cinven’s ownership, CPA Global continued its strong growth, accelerated its global expansion, and led a successful transformation to become a technology-led business. Cinven was successful in making a number of transformative add-on acquisitions, which enabled the company to accelerate its geographic expansion in Asia and broaden its technological capabilities.

In August 2017, Cinven announced the sale of CPA Global to Leonard Green and Partners, a
large US buyout firm. The sale generated a return of 2.9x the original invested cost, equivalent to an annualised return of 25%. The total cash proceeds to ICGT of £11m represented an uplift of approximately 44% to the July 2017 valuation.

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