Accelya

 

Company description

Accelya is the leading provider of financial and business intelligence solutions to the airline industry. Headquartered in Barcelona, Accelya is a global company both in term of sales and set up: 30% of its revenues are in Asia, more than 20% in the Americas, its main delivery centres are in India, Spain, Tunisia and Mexico.

Context of the investment

Chequers was able to acquire the business in 2007 thanks to its ability to manage the complex carve out of ADP Inc., supporting the management plan to develop the company out of its core contractual business with IATA to both boost growth and diversify its customer base.

Role of Chequers

During the 10 years of Chequers ownership in Accelya, the company quadrupled its EBIT thanks to the organic development of new software as a service (SAAS) products for airlines (sales and marketing data analytics, card payment management), investments in the upgrading of the company delivery centres and the acquisition of the leading provider of revenue accounting IT solutions to the airline industry, an Indian company listed on the Mumbai stock exchange. Chequers supported this acquisition, which expanded the business footprint into a new growing product line and in Asia, both financially and by bringing its acquisition execution experience. Chequers also organised the orderly generational transition of the management team, combining outside recruitment with internal promotion.

Results

These development transformed Accelya into the global leader of back-office IT solutions to airlines. Chequers sold Accelya in March 2017 to Mercator, in a transaction where Accelya management took over the global management of the enlarged Mercator activiy.