​​​RSM's M&A team has advised NEC Software Solutions UK Limited (‘NEC’) on its divestiture of public safety and control room software business, Eagle NewCo Limited (‘Eagle’), to Codan Radio Communications Pty Limited (‘Codan’).

​​​Headquartered in Japan, NEC Corporation is a multinational IT, software and electronics company with c.£17bn global revenue. Eagle, a carve-out from NEC’s UK operations, is a leading provider of mission critical control room communication and workforce management solutions. It supplies over 100 emergency services and transport customers across the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East. Eagle’s solutions are currently used by more than two-thirds of police forces in the UK, as well as by major transportation hubs and airports.

​Codan is a global leader in software solutions, with operations across Australia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The purchase of NEC’s assets is expected to complement Codan’s core public safety market and its recent acquisition of Zetron Inc, a US-based control room software provider.

​A multi-disciplinary team from RSM advised NEC on its carve-out of the Eagle assets. The deal was led by RSM’s M&A team, with support from its due diligence team who carried out a complex vendor due diligence exercise. RSM’s tax team also advised on tax structuring.

​​​RSM’s M&A and Private Equity team advised on the sale of Caboodle Technology Group (‘Caboodle’) to Access People, a division of The Access Group, a leading provider of business management software to mid-market organisations across the UK, Ireland, and Asia Pacific.​​​

​Founded by Catherine Bennett in 2009, Caboodle provides its market-leading platform to support organisations in rewarding, recognising and retaining their workforce. The company operates out of its head office in Sandbach and services over 500,000 employees with its platform, offering one of the widest ranges of benefit schemes on the market.

Having worked with Caboodle previously, we were engaged as lead advisers to help the shareholders find the right partner to continue the company’s impressive growth journey in the rapidly expanding employee benefits market. Following a full marketing process, Access People was selected as the preferred partner – due to the business and cultural fit, and the opportunities that being part of Access People will bring to Caboodle.

The acquisition by Access People, which employs around 5,000 staff, will support the expansion of its range of HR services. Both organisations will work together to invest and develop software that will provide customers with a more comprehensive and seamless HR service.