In a deal announced on the first working day of 2017, Knight advised the shareholders of Freedom Communications on its disposal to GCI.
“Knight took the time to understand our aspirations for the business and were able to tailor the process to target the most appropriate transaction for us” said Pat Botting, Founder of Freedom “In the end we chose a trade sale as it enabled the Founders to exit fully at completion. Knight managed each aspect of the sale process and their experience and relationships with both the buyer and our team proved fundamental in ensuring the transaction completed on time and on expectation. Needless to say we are delighted with the outcome.”
Adam Zoldan, Director at Knight Corporate Finance commented “It was a real privilege to work with the team at Freedom Communications. They are a forward looking company offering a range of services from traditional PBX, hosted voice and latterly Skype for Business.
Ultimately, their strategy and continuous investment in people, products and expertise paid dividends, with GCI being the successful bidder in a competitive sales process. The price paid fully recognised Freedom’s strengths in the public sector and expertise in Skye for Business that would help cement GCI’s position as a leading Microsoft partner.”
In a second announcement, Knight CF advised leading hosted telephony provider the Voice Factory on a significant debt funding package from Finance Wales, to provide growth capital for their expansion into the United States.
Paul Harrison of the Voice Factory commented “we work with Knight on an on-going basis and their knowledge of our business and their experience of working with Finance Wales ensured that we could secure the required funding with no disruption to the business. Knight knew what was required and ensured that the decision for Finance Wales and the process to completion was very straightforward.”
Paul Billingham, Director at Knight Corporate Finance added “The Voice Factory is a fast growing company, but was being constrained by a lack of funding. We knew that an injection of cash would enable the business to recruit new people, invest in the business and most importantly free up management resource so key staff can focus their time more strategically. Finance Wales offered a compelling funding package that will enable the business to grow and develop with minimum impact on the business.”
Adam Zoldan of Knight concluded “these transactions demonstrate the range of services and expertise that Knight can provide to clients in the ICT sector, whether on strategy and funding, or exit planning and execution. 2017 looks set to continue the trend with well-funded buyers continuing to acquire and high levels of confidence from a financial institutions continuing to finance continued investment in the sector. We have a fascinating range of deals in process and look forward to further announcements in the coming months.”