HGCapital sells SHL for $660m
PRIVATE equity group HgCapital has sold employment consultancy SHL to larger rival Corporate Executive Board for $660m (£420.6m), having quadrupled the value of the firm within six years.
HgCapital, which bought the firm for £100m in 2006, has sold out from SHL after helping to almost double the firm’s revenues and treble its earnings. HgCapital merged the UK firm with US rival PreVisor last year, bringing in VSS as a fellow investor.
The group said the deal realises £27.1m in cash proceeds, and lifts the net asset value of its Capital Trust vehicle by 17.2p per share.
SHL helps companies with recruitment, employee development and succession planning. It counts Barclays, Coca Cola and Dell among its clients.
The British company generates half the revenues of CEB but has double the number of clients.
The sale “marks the continued development of HgCapital’s investment focus in the business services sector”, said HgCapital’s head of services Matt Rourke.
HgCapital was advised on the deal by Morgan Stanley, Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Deloitte, while CEB was advised by Allen & Co and BofA Merrill Lynch.