Trade buyer sought for Illion over IPO plans

Jacobs Creek is one of Pernod Ricard’s brands. Picture: Elenor Tedenborg

Archer Capital is believed to have accelerated plans to sell its data registry business Illion, with the sales process said to be kicking off this month.

It is understood the process is focused solely on finding a trade buyer, with aspirations for an initial public offering on the backburner for now.

Earlier a listing was on the cards, but market volatility may have prompted Archer to change course.

A trade sale offers Archer the opportunity to sell the business in full rather than just a partial sell-down with an IPO.

Expectations had been mounting that the owners could have been toying with pushing a sale of Illion into 2020, when it would have shored up its earnings, enabling the private equity firm to command a higher price.

September is proving to be a busy month when it comes to private equity deals.

Navis Capital is set to launch the sale process for its Modern Star education resources company through Luminis Partners.

Pernod Ricard is also scheduled to start the sales process for its Australia and New Zealand wine labels, which include Jacobs Creek.

However, some say the process may be further delayed as more work is undertaken to separate the business from its parent company.

A long list of private equity firms are expected to line up for the wine business that is up for sale through Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan.

Goldman Sachs may also launch the sales process for outback clothing retailer RM Williams, although questions remain as to the level of interest at a time that retail remains out of favour with private buyers.

Citi and Houlihan Lokey are working on the sale process for Illion.

It was purchased in 2015 by Archer Capital for $220m.

The business collects consumer and business data from various sources and sells credit reports.

The operation is the former Australasian arm of Dun & Bradstreet, and some say the owners of the global Dun & Bradstreet are potential buyers.

When it was purchased, about two-thirds of the acquired operations were consumer-related, and the plan was to drive more of a business-to-business focus.

Now it is believed to be worth between $1.2bn and $1.5bn, following acquisitions.

Private equity deals are ramping up as reporting season draws to a close, with the major thematic for listed companies being the return of cash to shareholders via share buybacks and special dividends.

One point of focus was the performance of recently acquired businesses by major listed corporates.

Some have expressed disappointment about Amcor’s purchase of Bemis, with the stock losing ground since the $9bn acquisition, which was finalised this year, along with oOh!Media which bought Adshel last year for $570m but issued a profit warning causing its shares to crash. Another disappointing deal was Reliance Worldwide’s $1.2bn purchase of British-based plumbing supplies rival John Guest last year.