Nottingham-based Esendex is set to embark a management buy-out (MBO) transaction valued at GBP 11 million. The deal is backed by Darwin Private Equity, which also happens to be the equity firm's first venture for 2013.

In a statement, it was revealed that Esendex CEO Geoff Love leads the transaction. MettingZone's co-founder and former CEO Tim Duffy will be joining him and will serve as the new chairman.

Esendex, founded by Adam Bird and Julian Hucker in 2001, offers short message services (SMS) to businesses. Their assistance is said to enhance operational efficiency, upgrade customer service and permits communication among employees. They have 60 employees serving around 6,500 companies from all over the world. Among those included in their client portfolio are Virgin Media, Addison Lee and Ocado.

"We are delighted that we have found a partner in Darwin who will continue to develop the business and we look forward to supporting Esendex in the next phase of its development," said founders Bird and Hucker.

While both founders will be realizing their shares in the company through the MBO, they will remain as its consultants.