HgCapital Trust (HGT), a £2.3bn private equity fund focused on business technology, has taken a stake in US cybersecurity vetting firm A-LIGN.
HGT is putting £48m into the Florida-based company, which provides security audits to 5,700 firms, an area of growing demand as businesses face increasing threats from AI-powered hackers.
The investment company is co-investing alongside institutional clients of its fund manager Hg as well as the Hg Genesis Fund. Terms were not disclosed but HGT said the transaction would reduce its post-dividend cash pile to £412m, equal to 17% of net assets.
Hg is buying a majority stake from Warburg Pincus in A-LIGN which will use the money to fund the next phase of its growth.
Scott Price, A-LIGN chief executive, said: “Hg’s deep expertise and track record in scaling tech-enabled services businesses globally, combined with world-class operational resources, makes them the ideal partner to help us provide the best possible services to our customers.”
Shares in HGT were boosted last week by reports that Visma, the Norwegian accounting software provider that is its biggest holding at 12.7% of assets, planned a €19bn flotation in London early next year.
HGT shares have slipped 5.8% this year but stand on a relatively narrow 4% discount reflecting their strong five-year performance with a 120.4% total return for shareholders.
