Intellectual property and support services provider RWS Holdings announced on Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Moravia US Holding Company and Moravia Lux Holding Company, which it describes as a “leading provider” of technology-enabled localisation services.
The AIM-traded company said the vendor was Moravia Holdings II, with the transaction involving cash consideration of $320m as well as working capital and certain other adjustments and transaction costs.
It said the consideration, adjustments and transaction costs were intended to be funded by a £185m cash placing of new ordinary shares.
The board said it believed that the acquisition had a “compelling” strategic and financial rationale, as it would bring to the group a “highly successful” business with a strong track record of profitable and cash generative growth.
RWS said the acquisition would also bring long-term relationships with some of the largest publicly traded technology companies in the world.
The acquisition would also bring increased revenues by a compound annual growth rate of 26.0% from $100.3m in 2014 to $159.2m in 2016 and adjusted EBITDA by a CAGR of 52.6% from $11.6m in 2014 to $27.1m in 2016.
“We are delighted to announce the proposed acquisition of Moravia which will greatly increase our exposure to the high growth technology sector, will add a third market leading business of scale to the group and will extend our global presence,” said RWS chairman Andrew Brode.
“Its focus on addressing its clients’ large, complex and time-critical localisation requirements across more than 160 languages and multiple platforms will be an excellent fit alongside our existing market leading intellectual property and life sciences services.”
Brode said the company was “looking forward” to supporting the Moravia team as it built upon its strong industry reputation and growth track record to extend its client relationships, services, the sectors it addresses and its geographical spread.
“This acquisition marks another important milestone towards our strategic vision of delivering high quality, full-service global language and support services across the value chain in attractive markets, and we are confident it will add significant value to our shareholders.”