Charles Russell Speechlys has advised The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) on two company disposals to the US buyer, Diligent Corporation, a leading provider of online collaboration solutions for committees, company boards and leadership teams.  Charles Russell Speechlys acted in relation to ICSA’s sale of its 60% share in ICSA Boardroom Apps Limited and its 100% share in ICSA Software International Limited.

ICSA Boardroom Apps Limited, through its BoardPad product, is one of the leading board collaboration software providers throughout EMEA and Australia and across a variety of industries and sectors; ICSA Software International Limited’s product Blueprint Oneworld is the global leader in entity management solutions for corporate secretarial and legal departments and general counsel.

By acquiring ICSA Software International, Diligent strengthens its position in the governance, risk management and compliance software market, whilst with its acquisition of ICSA Boardroom Apps, Diligent expands its reach across a broader range of industries and locations, via a different medium.  The customers of both ICSA Software International and ICSA Boardroom Apps will have access to Diligent’s award-winning customer service and product management that it has developed in its service of Fortune 1000 companies around the globe.

Simon Osborne, ICSA Chief Executive, commented: “We are proud of the growth that Blueprint and BoardPad have achieved as part of ICSA. We are pleased to have found a good home for the two businesses and look forward to the continued partnership we will form with Diligent as part of this transaction.  I am immensely grateful to the Charles Russell Speechlys team for their help in achieving this outcome. They are good “can do” and client-friendly lawyers and it has been a pleasure to work with them“

Andrew Clarke, Corporate Partner at Charles Russell Speechlys, said: “we worked with ICSA in 2012 when the businesses were reorganised to establish ICSA Boardroom Apps Limited, so it was an excellent opportunity for us to be able to advise on these disposal transactions, working alongside the team of CEO Simon Osborne, CFO Robert Ing and the M&A team at Moore Stephens”.

The Charles Russell Speechlys team was Andrew Clarke, Richard Coleman, Emily Davies and Georgina Harris (Corporate), along with Mark Bailey and George Willis (Commercial), Rhys Novak (Litigation), Helen Coward (Tax) and Trevor Bettany (Employment).