Owner of airline services firm Accelya taps banks to launch sale - sources

Accelya Solutions India

10/11/2016 19:34

By Pamela Barbaglia, Dasha Afanasieva and Arno Schuetze 
    LONDON/FRANKFURT, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The private equity 
owner of European airlines services firm Accelya has hired 
advisers to sell the business that provides cost management 
solutions to the likes of British Airways and American Airlines, 
three sources familiar with the matter said. 
    They said French mid-market buyout firm Chequers Capital is 
working with BNP Paribas and Evercore on finding a new owner for 
Accelya, which was founded in 2007 and has annual revenues of 
$120 million. 
    Officials at Chequers Capital and Evercore were not 
immediately available for comment, while BNP Paribas declined to 
comment. 
    The sale will address a limited number of potential bidders, 
one of the sources said, after previous sale attempts by 
Chequers Capital were aborted around two years ago due to 
lacklustre interest.  
    Based in Barcelona, Accelya says it helps over 200 airlines 
streamline their costs, providing anything from accounting, 
audit, billing and revenue recovery services.  
    It employs more than 2,000 people in nine countries and 
could be valued at less than 10 times its annual core earnings 
of about $55 million, one of the sources said. 
    Buyout firm Warburg Pincus, which owns Dubai-based travel 
services firm Mercator, may be interested in making an offer, 
one of the sources said.  
    A spokeswoman for Warburg Pincus declined to comment. 
    Accelya controls an Indian listed subsidiary, Accelya Kale 
Solutions  AKSL.NS , which was acquired in 2010 and specialises 
in providing software solutions to the airline and travel 
industry globally.  
    Paris-based Chequers Capital is one of the oldest private 
equity houses in France. Established in 1972, it invests in 
companies with an enterprise value of between 50 million and 500 
million euros.  
    Chequers raised an 850-million-euro fund in 2011, exceeding 
its initial 800-million fundraising target. 
 
 (Editing by Mark Heinrich) 
 ((dasha.afanasieva@tr.com; +44)(0)(20 7542 0214;)) 
 
Keywords: ACCELYA SALE/