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ATG Media, operator of online marketplaces
the-saleroom.com, i-bidder.com and BidSpotter,
announces new investment partner ECI alongside Mobeus
London, Monday 30 June, 2014: ATG Media (‘ATG’), the global pioneer of webcast
and timed online auction platforms and owner of antiques industry bible, Antiques
Trade Gazette, has announced that it has struck a deal with private equity firm ECI
Partners (‘ECI’) to drive ongoing international expansion.
ATG’s platforms, which include the-saleroom.com, i-bidder.com, BidSpotter.co.uk
and BidSpotter.com, allow bidders from around the world to browse fully illustrated
sale catalogues and place bids over the internet in real time, with live audio and
video feeds delivering the auction room atmosphere. Bidders are also able to
participate in timed, online only auctions.
ATG’s growth has been driven by the continued shift of bidders online and ATG’s
ability to provide auctioneers with a larger bidder base.
The sites have exceptional brand recognition - 80% of visitors to ATG’s websites visit
because they know the brand or they find the brand via organic search. In the past
12 months the sites have sold 1.3m lots totalling in excess of £260m online.
ECI will partner with ATG’s management and existing investor Mobeus Equity
Partners (‘Mobeus’) in taking the business forward.
Mobeus financed the management buyout of ATG in October 2008 and provided
additional funding in April 2013 to support the acquisition of BidSpotter. Mobeus is
maintaining a significant minority stake in the business.
Anne Somers, CEO of ATG Media commented:
“We are very pleased to be working with ECI Partners. They have a strong track
record partnering with fast-growing, innovative companies in the e-commerce,
technology space.
“ECI’s experience in the online sector, particularly their successful partnerships with
Laterooms.com and CarTrawler, will be instrumental in driving our expansion into
new markets and investment in new technology.”
“We are proud of our achievements to date and are poised for further expansion.
Working with Mobeus, we successfully acquired BidSpotter in April 2013 and we are
now looking to grow further with investment and support from ECI.”
Tom Wrenn, Partner and head of TMT at ECI, the UK’s leading growth-focused,
mid-market private equity firm, commented:
“We are delighted to be partnering with ATG Media as the company transitions into
its next growth phase. As a growth focused investor we were attracted to ATG by its
market leading technology and strong brand recognition, attributes that have driven
its market penetration.
“We look forward to working with Anne’s team and Mobeus to help drive ATG’s
continued expansion in the UK and internationally.”
Mike Walker, Partner at Mobeus said:
“Anne and her team have done an excellent job growing the business, expanding
into new geographies and verticals. We are particularly proud of our success with
ATG – we backed the business in the teeth of the 2008-9 financial crisis when many
other investors shut up shop. This is a tremendous UK growth story– the business
has more than doubled over a very challenging economic period. That is all credit to
the strength of the team at ATG. I would like to welcome ECI on board. We look
forward to working with management and ECI to continue ATG’s impressive growth.”
Advisors on the deal:
Blake Lapthorn – legal advice to Mobeus and ATG Media
Deloitte – financial due diligence for ECI
First Capital – corporate finance advice to Mobeus and ATG Media
Hambalt – vendor commercial due diligence
Liberty Corporate Finance – corporate finance advice to ECI
PricewaterhouseCoopers - commercial due diligence to ECI
Squire Sanders – legal advice to ECI
For further information please contact:
ECI Partners: Tom Wrenn / Charlie Johnstone
T: +44 (0) 20 7606 1000
Maitland: Tom Eckersley/Rachel Pescod
T: +44 (0)20 7379 5151
ATG Media: Richard Lewis
[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)203 725 5512
Notes to Editors
About ATG Media
ATG’s websites allow bidders from around the world to browse fully illustrated sale
catalogues and place bids over the internet in real time with live audio and video
feeds delivering the auction room atmosphere. Bidders are also able to participate in
timed, online only auctions.
The sites have exceptional brand recognition - 80% of visitors to ATG’s websites visit
because they know the brand or they find the brand via organic search. In the past
12 months the sites have sold 1.3m lots totalling in excess of £260m online.
A team of 50 highly trained specialists in London and Seattle offices provide world
class 24/7 customer support.
BidSpotter
BidSpotter.com and BidSpotter.co.uk are the world leaders in industrial online
auctions
i-bidder.com
The website for construction and farm equipment, retail returns and commercial
auctions.
the-saleroom.com
Europe's leading website for fine art and antiques auctions providing a complete
range of online services for buyers and sellers.
White label products
ATG’s award winning technology powers lot-tissimo.com (Germany's foremost fine
art and antiques auction portal) and Spink Live (the world's oldest auctioneer and
antique dealer).
About Mobeus Equity Partners
Mobeus is a leading UK VCT Manager with over £200 million funds under
management and is an active investor in privately owned UK smaller businesses.
Recent investments include Creative Graphics International, Entanet International,
Bourn Hall, Virgin Wines and Veritek.
For more information, visit www.mobeusequity.co.uk
https://twitter.com/mobeusequity
http://www.linkedin.com/company/mobeus-equity-partners
About ECI
ECI is the UK’s leading growth-focused, mid-market private equity firm. Founded in
1976, it is one of the longest established and most successful private equity groups
in the UK. With offices in London and Manchester, ECI invests in management
buyouts, buyins and development capital deals of growth companies valued between
£10 million and £150 million.
Taking either a majority or a minority equity position, ECI partners with ambitious
management teams in the TMT, Business Services, Industrials, Healthcare and
Consumer sectors, and has sold over 90 investments with a total value of over £2.8
billion since 1990.
Relevant ECI transactions in the TMT and Consumer sectors include investments in
online late availability hotel platform Laterooms.com (sold to TUI plc for a 9x return),
online car rental platform CarTrawler (sold to BC and Insight Venture Partners for a
6x return), and recent investments in online theatre ticket company Encore and
online insurance specialist Avantia.
ECI has a long track record of building successful businesses and continues to do so
today as illustrated by the performance of its latest fund, ECI 9, which has
experienced CAGR:
•
•
•
•
EBITDA of 23%
turnover of 17%
Employment of 26%
Total investment (Capex and R&D) of 30%.
For more information, please visit http://www.ecipartners.com
-Ends-

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