Hg announces sale of Silverfin to Visma

HgCapital Trust PLC

25 September 2023

 

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("HGT"), today announces that it has agreed the sale of Silverfin, a leading cloud platform for accountants to Visma, Europe's leading provider of mission-critical cloud software.

The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed and completion is subject to closing conditions.

HGT, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all Hg's investments.

This transaction values HGT's investment in Silverfin at approximately £18.8 million. This would represent an uplift of £3.1 million (20% or 0.7 pence per share) over the carrying value of £15.7 million in the Net Asset Value ("NAV") of HGT at 31 August 2023.

Note that these figures only relate to HgCapital Trust's share of Hg's overall investment in Silverfin.

Based on the 31 August 2023 reported NAV, the pro-forma NAV of the Trust is expected to be £2.2 billion (or 473.9 pence per share).  HGT's available liquid resources, which includes the undrawn bank facility of £350 million for future deployment (including all announced transactions and the interim dividend payable in October) are estimated to be £672.2 million (31% of the pro-forma 31 August 2023 NAV).

Visma reinforces position as Europe's cloud accounting champion with acquisition of Silverfin

Silverfin, Belgium's leading provider of cloud software for accountants, will continue its growth trajectory as part of Visma.

Silverfin is a cloud-native provider of post-accounting software including accounts preparation and related workflows. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, the company has a differentiated offering serving a strong base of international customers, including the Big 4.

Silverfin's platform enables accountants to improve efficiency, competitiveness and profitability in compliance and reporting services, and powers the development and delivery of new advisory services. Most of the company's close to 850 direct customers are accounting offices, and the platform has nearly 320,000 end clients.

The acquisition significantly increases Visma's presence in the Belgian software market, and also reinforces the Group's position as Europe's cloud accounting software champion.

"Silverfin gives accountants the technology and tools they need to be more successful, both for themselves and for their clients, making Silverfin a perfect match for Visma. We look forward to supporting and further accelerating their growth", says Merete Hverven, CEO of Visma.

Aligned on a common vision

Silverfin was founded in 2013 by an accountant frustrated by inefficient work processes, and a software architect looking for a tough problem that could be cracked utilising cloud computing.

Together, they started thinking about how data, and the cloud, could make life easier for accountants, make their businesses better and at the same time unlock new revenue opportunities from value-added client advisory services.

Today, Silverfin is established as the leading cloud accounting provider in Belgium, with 28 of the country's top 30 accounting firms as customers.

"This is a huge milestone for Silverfin. Over the years we've been fortunate to have drawn interest from many organisations looking to partner with Silverfin. We've come to know Visma and aligned on a common vision on entrepreneurialism, technological innovation and customer focus. The Silverfin product will now be distributed to many more accountants", say Tim Vandecasteele and Joris Van Der Gucht, Co-Founders at Silverfin.

AI pioneer

In the last four years alone, Silverfin has expanded to 15 countries whilst continuing to build a strategic position in the Benelux region. This accelerated growth has happened without compromising its highly innovative culture, pioneering the use of new technologies such as AI for post accountancy products, which have proven to be highly valuable to customers.

"The transaction represents an incredible opportunity for the whole team at Silverfin. Visma is one of the biggest and most successful cloud software businesses in the world and we share a strong cultural fit. I look forward to us working together to lead the digitization of the accounting profession in Europe and beyond", says Lisa Miles-Heal, CEO of Silverfin.

Joris Van Gool, Partner at Hg and Thomas Depuydt, Partner at Smartfin said: "Hg and

Smartfin are proud to have partnered with Tim, Joris, Lisa and the team, transforming the

accounting profession across Europe. Congratulations to the whole Silverfin team."

Silverfin becomes Visma's seventh acquisition in the Belgium business software market since first entering the country in 2020 with the purchase of Yuki. Since then, Belgian companies like Syneton, UseItGroup, ionProjects, TeamLeader and Beeple have also joined the Group.

For further details:

Hg

Tom Eckersley                                                                                                                    [phone]

HGT

Laura Dixon                                                                                                                         [phone]

Brunswick

Azadeh Varzi                                                                                                                       [phone]

[e-mail]

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L), gives investors exposure through a liquid vehicle to a portfolio of high-growth private companies in the software and services sector. The selection of new investments and creation of value in these businesses are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com.

The contents of the Hg, HgCapital Trust, Silverfin and Visma websites are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

 

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