Savanti are a strategic cyber security consultancy with a team of almost fifty. Their expertise covers strategy, security leadership, architecture design, identity and security risk assessments for enterprise clients. Savanti appointed WTA Partners as exclusive M&A advisors to facilitate the sale of the business.
The lead shareholders were the two co-founders, Richard Brinson and Matt Taylor.
Client Objectives
The cyber security space is growing but suffers from a shortage of well qualified staff and
hence attracting and retaining staff is of key importance to the company. In addition to the
requirement for a suitable price, great importance was attached to:
- Cultural fit: prospective buyers had to have a culture similar to Savanti’s.
- Identity: the directors wished the identity of the business to continue as long as possible and particularly did not want the employees to be split or absorbed into a larger organisation as they felt many of the staff would not remain.
- Outcome: All stated objectives of the vendors were met.
Overview
Savanti Limited (Savanti), a cyber consultancy, appointed WTA as their exclusive sale-side advisor in April 2022 after running a competitive process to select an advisor. The business was eventually sold to FSP Consulting Services Limited (FSP) in February 2023.
- There was a desire for all key staff to be able to share in the success of the combined business.
- The two majority owners, the CEO and COO, wanted to have a position of influence in the acquirer’s company’s management.
- The owner-managers had only limited time available for prospective buyers so it was important to fully prequalify possible buyers and ensure they were able to meet and respect the vendor’s key objectives.
We listened very carefully to the requirement and made it central to the go-to-market strategy. In the preparation phase we minimised the time and effort needed for information gathering because all WTA transaction resources are highly experienced IT sector professionals and can work from existing company documentation and financial records. Hardly anything needed to be created.
When ready, we presented a small number of possible target buyers which we felt would be able meet shareholders’ goals and would also have the ability to transact at the required value. Of those Targets agreed for approach, we held a preliminary Teams session usually with the CEO or Chairman to brief them on what was being sought and hear from them how well they might meet the objectives. Next our client and potential buyers had an exploratory conversation via Teams for each to understand the other’s requirements better and specifically for the client to decide whether they wished to engage further. This qualification process meant that only three face-to-face meetings were necessary prior to the preferred buyer being selected.
The Acquirer Perspective
“Jeffrey and the WTA team were keen to clearly qualify interest, cultural alignment and win/win for everyone from the start and this maintained throughout. The interactions were professional, always respectful and at times pragmatic where it was needed.”
“I truly believe Jeffrey had the best interests of the selling founders in mind and invested significant time working through the right approach and ingredients that mattered the most. As a buyer, of course the quality of the business, the customers, its revenues were paramount but also so were the true motivations of the founders and the people at Savanti. I think WTA really helped unlock this and brought great clarity for everyone about the potential of the organisations coming together.”
Simon Grosse –CEO, FSP
The Client Perspective
“Choosing an advisor was not a decision we took lightly, so we certainly did our research. What struck us about WTA versus the typical corporate finance teams was the breadth and depth of experience of all of the individuals, having been entrepreneurs in their own right before gaining vast experience in the M&A space. WTA were able to identify and gain the interest of several high quality suitors, with a range of options and deal types for us to consider, which ultimately led to the chosen partnership with FSP. We are very grateful to Jeffrey and the team for making this transaction happen.”
“We spent a great deal of time and consideration looking for the right partner to accelerate Savanti’s growth, and FSP stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of culture fit, synergies and scale of opportunity. The acquisition will enable us to offer a greater breadth and depth of cyber services, improve our time to market and further develop our international presence. This is a hugely exciting time for all our colleagues and a great outcome for our clients.”
Richard Brinson –CEO, Savanti
For WTA: Jeffrey Jenner, Mark Lane and Alan Butterworth