Several private equity firms are reportedly considering bids for NCC Group’s Escode business.
The Manchester-headquartered cybersecurity group confirmed that it is investigating a number of options for the major subsidiary, which specialises in software escrow and verification services.
Sky News earlier reported that Montagu Private Equity and Bridgepoint are two of the buyout firms interested in Escode, with other unnamed parties also considering bids.
Any deal for the subsidiary – which has corporate clients including ByteDance’s TikTok – could be worth £300-400m.
NCC Group’s market cap is currently £478m. Its share price has climbed 12% in the last 12 months. It is up more than 2% in the year to date.
“No proposals have as yet been received, and no decision has been made on whether to proceed with any transaction. The company will keep shareholders updated as and when appropriate,” NCC stated.
NCC, led by CEO Mike Maddison (pictured), employs 2,200 people around the world and is considering disposals of several of its subsidiaries. It said in January that it had decided “not to restart the strategic review of Escode at this juncture”.
Meanwhile NCC has secured a fresh £120m borrowing facility to fund future strategy and growth.
The four-year multi-currency revolving credit facility, with a £50m uncommitted accordion option, is provided by a syndicate of National Westminster Bank plc, HSBC UK Bank plc, Barclays Bank plc and Santander UK plc.
It replaces the group’s previous £162.5m facility, which had an expiry date of 22nd December 2026.
As of 31st March 2025, the group had net cash of £300,000 following the disposal of Fox Crypto B.V. for €78.5m.
“We would like to thank NatWest and HSBC for their continued support, and we welcome Barclays and Santander to the syndicate,” said Guy Ellis, CFO.
“This new facility, combined with our net cash position, continues to give NCC Group flexibility to pursue its strategy in 2025 and beyond.”