IMAS acted as the exclusive financial adviser to LIKEZERO Limited (“LIKEZERO”, the “Company”) in connection with PwC’s sale of the business to the management team, led by CEO Mike Lines, with the support of Souter Investments, the private equity focused family investment office, and Manfield Partners.

PwC has spun out its proprietary intelligent data capture technology to create a new independent business named LIKEZERO, a leading provider of proven, next generation intelligent data capture technology for the financial services industry which gives institutions deeper and more effective insight into their counterparty risk profile. The Company’s unique technology helps banks, financial institutions and other regulated businesses analyse and extract insight and data from within their client contracts, enabling and enhancing their risk management and contract governance, transformation and remediation activities. LIKEZERO enables the automated capture of complex data, using proprietary next generation data mining and matching techniques to provide a scalable process for any document type, which operates more quickly and with reduced need for human review.

Established in 2016, LIKEZERO, grew rapidly within PwC under the leadership of Michael Lines, now the Company’s chief executive, under the name of eBAM. LIKEZERO now counts some of the world’s largest financial institutions among its blue-chip client base and will continue to supply its technology to the PwC global network and its other partners. The Company has also established strategic partnerships with market-leading data processing players such as AcadiaSoft and IHS Markit.

IMAS provided advice to the management, Souter Investments and Manfield Partners throughout the entire project. From having first introduced the management to selected private equity funds, IMAS worked closely with the selected backers on various aspects of the process through to the ultimate agreement of the terms of the transaction, including providing advice on valuation, strategy and future exit options.

Michael Lines, Chief Executive of LIKEZERO, commented: “This is a hugely exciting moment for our business. In today’s highly complex, unpredictable and regulated world, the ability for financial institutions to understand and manage their counterparty risk has become a critical function. Events such as Brexit, the cessation of Libor and the implementation of new regulations such as the new margin rules for uncleared over-the-counter derivatives, or indeed the impact of a global pandemic, all make the assessment of risk increasingly challenging. I’m convinced that our proprietary software and expertise is the best in the market and there lies the opportunity for us.”
“I would like to thank PwC for all their support and investment over the last four years and look forward to working closely with the team at Souter Investments, PwC and all our partners and clients to deliver on our and their ambitions.”

John Berthinussen, Investment Director at Souter Investments, said: “When speaking to LIKEZERO’s partners and clients we have consistently heard that the Company presents a strong combination of proven technology supported by an experienced team of innovative, entrepreneurial and highly skilled professionals who understand the challenges facing the world’s financial institutions. It is clear to us that LIKEZERO has a compelling and scalable proposition which serves the growing need for financial institutions to better understand and manage their critical risks. We are excited to be working with Mike and his team to accelerate LIKEZERO’s growth.”