Global Regulatory Intelligence Leader VIXIO Acquired by Perwyn

VIXIO Regulatory Intelligence, the leading provider of regulatory and business intelligence to the global payments and gambling industries, announced that it has been acquired by Perwyn, the European private equity investor.

VIXIO operates the GamblingCompliance and PaymentsCompliance intelligence platforms, providing regulatory research, monitoring, insights, and data to legal, compliance and business teams in these two highly regulated and volatile sectors. The parent company of GamblingCompliance and PaymentsCompliance was rebranded as VIXIO Regulatory Intelligence in 2020.

The acquisition by Perwyn will support the ambitious growth plans of VIXIO’s established management team, which has been in place since an original management buyout in 2019.

Mike Woolfrey, VIXIO CEO, said: “We are delighted to be working with Perwyn at a pivotal time in our development. We are particularly impressed by their track record in partnering and supporting exceptional companies to achieve ambitious plans on a global scale and look forward to working with them on helping VIXIO fulfil its potential.”

Gurinder Sunner, Partner at Perwyn, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the VIXIO team and support their ambitious growth plans. Already the market leader, we will be investing to enhance and increase the product offering and geographic coverage whilst maintaining and enhancing its leading reputation as the go to provider for regulatory intelligence in both the payments and gambling market.”

Kester Capital, one of the UK’s leading lower mid-market private equity firms, became VIXIO’s principal investor in 2019.

Adam Maidment, Managing Partner at Kester Capital, said: “We would like to thank Mike Woolfrey, VIXIO’s CEO, and his team for their phenomenal efforts over the last three years in building the business into the world’s leading provider of regulatory intelligence within its target sectors. It has been a pleasure to have worked with such a high-quality business and we wish the management team every success for the future.”

The acquisition of VIXIO by Perwyn will also see Gehan Talwatte join VIXIO’s board of directors as independent chair. Mr. Talwatte is a highly experienced executive and director who has overseen the growth of several high-value intelligence services businesses across various industries.

Former chair David Gilbertson will depart VIXIO with much gratitude, after being involved in the business as an advisor and director for more than a decade.

Woolfrey said: “We are delighted to have achieved this successful exit for the current shareholders and want to thank Kester Capital for their support and collaboration over the last three years.

“We also extend a warm welcome to Gehan as he brings his expert perspective to our board of directors, while sincerely thanking David for his invaluable contributions to VIXIO’s success.”

KPMG served as sell-side M&A advisor to VIXIO as part of the process. Osborne Clarke served as legal advisor, BDO as financial advisor, and Plural and Flagship Advisory Partners served as commercial due diligence advisors. VIXIO’s management team was advised by Jamieson.