Acxiom Corporation divestiture of 2Touch Ltd / Parseq

Cavendish Corporate Finance, along with our M&A International partner, TM Capital, are delighted to announce the cross-border divestiture by Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM) of 2Touch Ltd to Parseq plc.

Acxiom with revenues of over $1 billion, is an enterprise data, analytics and software-as-a-service company that drives data-driven marketing results for corporate clients worldwide.

2Touch, a subsidiary of Acxiom, is a premier UK-based technology-enabled outsourcing service provider specializing in multi-channel contact center, response handling and fulfillment solutions for some of the largest and most recognizable brands in the world.

Acxiom divested 2Touch to Parseq, a comprehensive, PE backed, European business process outsourcing (BPO) service provider, as part of its strategy to focus on growing its core marketing technology business.

The combined organisation will employ around 2,700 people working from five key sites in Sunderland, Glasgow, Rotherham, London and Brighton and have a turnover of around £65m and enhances Parseq’s proposition as the only mid-sized corporate providing end to end outsourcing services combining front office, back office and IT.

John Farrugia, Director at Cavendish, commented:

“We are delighted that the 2Touch sale to Parseq provides an excellent opportunity for Acxiom to focus on growing its core business in Europe, while allowing 2Touch to realize its potential under a company dedicated to business process outsourcing”

David Eisenberg, SVP Strategy and Corporate Development, Acxiom Corporation:

“The 2Touch divestiture is an important step in our strategy to refine our focus on our core marketing technology business. TM Capital and Cavendish worked seamlessly to evaluate the best possible alternatives for 2Touch and navigate the complexities of a cross-border corporate divestiture to deliver a successful outcome for all parties. We appreciate the senior level commitment from TM and Cavendish and their relentless dedication in completing this important transaction.

“TC Group have a fantastic business model and brilliant management team, which combined with Inflexion’s sector and M&A experience, puts us in a great position to help accelerate its already impressive growth. We look forward to working with the team to seize the market opportunity together.”

Malcolm Coffin, Partner and Head of Enterprise Fund at Inflexion

“We are delighted to have found a perfect match to drive the growth of the Company we founded in 2005. After a rigorous sale process, we have no doubt that Davidson Kempner/Pithos Capital will continue to develop the Company as the UK’s largest independent self-storage provider and we look forward to following its progress.”

The finnCap Cavendish team, led by Nehal Patel, did a fantastic job, running a truly competitive process and managing the transaction with great skill. They were instrumental in delivering this deal and the successful outcome.”

Keith Taylor and Cathy Taylor, Co-Founders, UK Storage Company Ltd

“The finnCap Cavendish team did a great job of running a competitive process to establish the best transaction options available for our stakeholders. They were instrumental in delivering the Talan deal and were a pleasure to work with.”

Alex Goody, CEO, Gemserv

“The finnCap Cavendish team has achieved a truly outstanding result for our Shareholders. Their knowledge of our business, the sector and the buyer landscape, as well as their commitment throughout to the process, was critical to our success.”

Steve Beckitt, Founder-CEO, SourceBreaker

“I could not be prouder to be joining the Otonomo team. This is a big, bold step that brings us closer to our vision of safer and smarter mobility for all. Our clients and partners, some of the leading insurers of the world, will have access to a significant and unique set of data products, tools and resources to help them compete and thrive in a connected new world ahead.

We really appreciated Cavendish’s excellent advice, their understanding of the business and getting the best outcome for the company by driving the process.”

Aldo Monteforte, CEO of The Floow

Over the last 16 years, we’ve grown to become the biggest search firm in the world dedicated to executive search in sports and entertainment, working in partnership with brands and wonderful clients across more than 20 countries and in every major sports league. Today, we join with Excel, enhancing our ability to see our clients achieve their fullest potential both on and off the field.

The finnCap Cavendish team played a critical role in helping us to secure the right partner and home for our business. The team’s recruitment sector expertise and commitment throughout the deal was second to none, I would have no hesitation in recommending them to other business owners considering M&A.”

Paul Nolan, Founder-CEO, Nolan Partners

“I have loved working with Andrew, Ben and Hugh at Cavendish! Hamilton Fraser is more than just a company to me. For me to sell, any deal had to deliver value but also see the business find a great new home. Cavendish always listened and provided their advice on these points and how best to achieve what I was looking for. I am delighted to have found the perfect partner in GRP with their support.”

Eddie Hooker, CEO, Hamilton Fraser

“We are delighted with the support received from the finnCap Cavendish team throughout this process. Mike and the team ensured that we prepared meticulously, identified the right pool of potential investors and worked closely with us, the management team and our legal advisers to deliver a great outcome for the Shareholders. We wish the Intelling team and RDCP all the best in their next phase of growth.”

Karl Cockwill, Portfolio Director, NVM

“This transaction is a hugely important step in the company’s development, strongly positioning the business for its next phase of growth, allowing us to meet the growing need for secondary school students to learn in an independent, fluid and remote manner.”

Anthony Coxon, Co-Founder, GCSEPod

“Cortland shares our core values and our customers focus, and their additional resources will help us accelerate our growth in the UK market.”

Nigel Burnand, Managing Director, Qdime