A syndicate of venture capital investors led by NVM Private Equity (NVM) has made a successful exit from Alaric Systems, which provides payment processing and fraud prevention software to a worldwide client list. London-based Alaric has been acquired by a subsidiary of US-based NCR Corporation, the global leader in consumer transaction technologies, in a $84 million deal.
Alaric has become a leading global supplier of payments processing and fraud prevention solutions to approximately 50 financial institutions, processors and retailers worldwide. Alaric’s ‘Authentic’ transaction processing solution and ‘Fractals’ fraud prevention and detection solution allow its customers in USA, Europe, Middle East, Australia and Asia, to securely process ATM, POS, eCommerce and mobile payment or banking transactions. The company has grown rapidly over recent years and now has 117 employees based in offices in London, Irving TX, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Rome and Dubai. Alaric’s products are now recognised as technical market leaders and power more than 1.6 billion transactions a month across 30 countries.
NVM first supported Alaric’s Mike Alford (Managing Director) and Peter Parke (Director) in 2000 with an investment of £2.3 million at an early stage of development when it was apparent that Alaric’s solutions had significant potential, when payment volumes were growing and fraud was becoming an ever growing burden on the financial industry. The company was developing an innovative new Java product suite based on the latest technologies to meet a growing demand for card authorisation/switching and fraud detection solutions. In 2002, Foresight joined NVM in subsequent funding rounds to support Alaric’s international growth strategy.
NVM has cumulatively invested a total of £5.0 million to support the development of the business, and Foresight has invested £2.4 million. In 2008, Mobeus Equity Partners took over sole management of a fund, previously jointly managed with Foresight, which held an investment in Alaric.
Mike Alford, Managing Director of Alaric Systems, comments: “NVM has been a major support over the years providing both finance and commercial input, and Tim Levett has been our Chairman for the last five years. The finance from NVM and Foresight has helped to ensure we have got to the stage where things are really booming. NVM’s faith in our vision back in 2000 is paying off now.”
Tim Levett, NVM Private Equity, comments: “Alaric has been a rewarding investment in every sense. Over the long period of our investment, we have always believed in the concept of innovative card authorisation and fraud detection systems, and it is a credit to the team that they have taken their products through to becoming technical market leaders in the payments market. Technical excellence has been the key, and Mike has built a world leading team to deliver this. Alaric now has blue chip customers in Australia, South East Asia, Europe and the USA; covering banks, processors, Payment Service Providers and retailers. We have enjoyed the journey.”
David Hughes, Foresight Group, comments: “The management team at Alaric has done a terrific job in developing the company into a global leader in its field. Alaric is typical of the growth capital investments Foresight makes in UK SMEs an exceptional management team, high growth, a large global market and a sustainable competitive advantage.
This transaction highlights the role that Venture Capital Trusts continue to play in funding UK SMEs, in particular in providing growth capital at a time when traditional bank funding continues to be scarce. NVM and Foresight are amongst the leading investors in UK SMEs, with combined VCT assets of £460 million invested in a portfolio of 90 companies across a wide range of sectors throughout the UK.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
NVM PRIVATE EQUITY ADVISERS:
Wragge & Co (Legal Advisers) – Ian Piggin – T 0207 864 9502 ian_piggin@wragge.com
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. (Corporate Finance) – Larry DeAngelo – larry.deangelo@suntrust.com
NCR CORPORATION ADVISERS:
Shakespeares (Legal Advisers) – Roy Botterill – T 0116 257 4431 roy.botterill@shakespeares.co.uk
Inclusions: Photos of Mike Alford & Peter Parke; payments related imagery
Alaric Systems is a global supplier of fraud prevention and payments processing products. Alaric’s products allow financial institutions, processors and retailers to manage ATM, POS, ecommerce and mobile payment or banking transactions, deliver complex multi-channel payments integration and carry out enterprise fraud and risk management.
Alaric’s focus is on customer empowerment ensuring its users can stay ahead of the market. Alaric’s products are designed to be rapidly customisable by customers, allowing them to take strategic control of their system investments. Alaric’s customers get the best of both worlds: an unprecedented degree of control over their solutions while retaining all the benefits and economies of using product-based solutions. The Alaric product line up comprises ‘Fractals’ fraud prevention and ‘Authentic’ payments technology. www.alaric.com
NVM Private Equity is independently owned with over 29 years’ experience of investing in unquoted UK businesses. NVM is a generalist investor, managing £260 million of funds, and is differentiated by having executives living and working in regional business communities throughout the UK. NVM seeks investment opportunities in UK businesses which have the right mix of growth potential and market vision. They may be looking to grow organically, acquire another business or secure a management buy-out. Typically, NVM looks to invest between £2 million and £10 million in each transaction. www.nvm.co.uk
Foresight Group is a leading independent infrastructure and private equity investment management house, having been managing investment funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients for almost 30 years. With a background in Private Equity and Venture Capital, Foresight has diversified activities and today manages institutional funds principally in UK small cap Private Equity, in European Infrastructure (Solar and PPP) and in Environmental Infrastructure.
Foresight has £1 billion assets under management across a number of funds, including Limited Partnerships, Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs).
Foresight’s Private Equity team, comprising ten investment professionals, invests between £1 million and £5 million in management buy-outs, management buy-ins and growth capital investments in UK SMEs.
For further information please contact:
Liberty Bollen (NVM: PR & Marketing) – 0118 951 7017 liberty.bollen@nvm.co.uk
Tim Levett (NVM: Chairman) – 0118 951 7010 tim.levett@nvm.co.uk
Ben Thompson, (Foresight: Marketing Director) – 0173 247 1855 bthompson@foresightgroup.eu
Andy Phillips (NCR: External Communications) – 0207 725 8248 andy.phillips@ncr.com
