Case study: RedSky IT and IT Hardware Company Stone Computers

One of the UK's leading IT application software companies, RedSky IT, has been advised by the technology sector team at law firm Pinsent Masons on the sale of the business to Explorer Software, Inc in Canada.  This represents an exit for August Equity, Banc Boston and Albany Ventures, the venture capital backers of RedSky IT and its senior management team lead by CEO, Gordon Matthew.

In a simultaneous transaction Explorer Software has sold the Hospitality, Retail and Travel software businesses of RedSky IT to MICROS Systems, Inc in the USA.  Explorer Software has retained the Construction, Contracting and Professional Services divisions of RedSky IT.

RedSky Construction Services is the largest financial software provider to the UK construction industry offering focused construction software solutions to each part of the supply chain. Its products help manage every process of a construction project from design to build and then maintenance. RedSky IT supports in excess of 1,500 organisations’ business critical construction software systems.

For MICROS Systems, Inc the US$32 million acquisition of three areas of the RedSky IT business forms a perfect fit with its existing product range and enables the company to increase its market share. 

Gordon Matthew, CEO of RedSky IT, who left the business on completion of the transaction, said: "The team at Pinsent Masons was very supportive throughout this transaction and 100% committed to helping us deliver a very satisfactory exit for our shareholders.  We appreciated their understanding of our sector and developed a strong and successful partnership with them over the years."

The technology sector team at Pinsent Masons, led by Corporate Partner Andrew Hornigold, is celebrating RedSky IT's success having worked with the company for several years, including advising on the disposal by way of secondary buyout in 2005 of the education business which retained the name Ramesys and from which the RedSky IT business was created.

"This is a real success story," commented Andrew Hornigold. "RedSky IT has built a great business and developed a reputation which has been the envy of others worldwide. The fact that acquisitive buyers from Canada and the USA have seen the potential of a tie up with RedSky IT is a measure of its success and the ability of the team that has driven its development."

The Pinsent Masons team acting for RedSky IT was led by Andrew Hornigold and included Emma Harvey and Amy Wanless (corporate) and Lisa Parisi and Chris Thomas (tax).

The deal is the second to be concluded in quick succession by the technology sector team which has just advised IT hardware producer Stone Computers on its acquisition of IT systems and products supplier, Compusys from founder Sam Kazerounian. Both businesses are active in the public sector. Together they will have a turnover of around £100 million and employ over 250 people, including 45 full-time support engineers operating throughout the country.