International legal practice Osborne Clarke alongside RSM’s M&A and Private Equity team has advised the shareholders of SelectScience Limited on the successful sale of the business to Vespa Capital.
Bath based SelectScience was founded by Arif and Louise Butt over 20 years ago and has become one of the world’s leading, independent digital publishers providing reputable science technology and research news and trusted product reviews. Its global platform allows product manufacturers, scientists, professors and researchers to connect and share information to support decision making and scientific development. The Company has been enjoying its best year on record, reaching an audience of over 5 million and attracting large numbers of new scientists.
Vespa Capital, headquartered in London, focuses on lower-middle market investments. With a portfolio of companies including publishing, reviews and biopharmaceuticals. Vespa were identified as a strong strategic partner that would support SelectScience’s CEO Kerry Parker, and the management team, with their ambitious growth plans.
Partner Alisdair Livingstone at Osborne Clarke said: "This is a fantastic result for SelectScience and we look forward to seeing the ongoing growth of the business under Kerry's leadership."
Arif Butt, founder, SelectScience, said: “We are delighted we chose RSM and Osborne Clarke as our advisors to help us with finding the right partner for SelectScience. Both Louise and I would like to extend our thanks to the teams for working tirelessly and providing invaluable advice, steering us through the process, and achieving a fantastic result despite the current global COVID-19 pandemic. We are excited for what the future holds for everybody involved in the SelectScience going forward.”
Stephanie Wilson, Associate Director, RSM Mergers & Acquisitions, commented: “It has been a pleasure working with SelectScience founders, Arif and Louise Butt to achieve this result. SelectScience has been a pioneer of digital marketing to the scientific community and despite the current economic challenges, the business has continued to deliver exceptional growth. We have identified a great strategic partner in Vespa who will support the business through its continued expansion. The investment provides a great opportunity for the management team to continue to grow the SelectScience platform globally. I’d like to thank Vespa for their professionalism throughout and wish them and CEO Kerry Parker, the best with developing the business.”
The Osborne Clarke team was led by Partner Alisdair Livingstone with support from Senior Associate Ashley Morris, Associate Bethany Shingfield and Senior Paralegal Jay Eng.
The transaction was led by Ian Wherry, partner at RSM, and supported by Stephanie Wilson, Rhys Jennings and Lucy Roberts.
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