Visma attracts new investors for expansion

HgCapital Trust PLC

21 December 2023

 

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("HGT"), today announces that it has agreed to a further investment in Visma, a leading provider of mission-critical cloud software in Europe and Latin-America.

Visma will welcome around 20 new investors to the shareholder register, worth over €1bn of equity investment. In addition the transaction will result in c.€3bn new investment from existing shareholders including majority investor, Hg.

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

HGT will make a net investment of approximately £83.5 million in Visma, with other institutional clients of Hg investing alongside HGT through the Hg Saturn Funds. As part of the transaction, Hg's Genesis 7 fund will fully exit its remaining position in Visma. HGT's net exposure to Visma will be £309.5m at closing representing approximately 13.6% of current NAV.

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

Based on the 30 September 2023 reported NAV, the pro-forma NAV of the Trust is expected to be £2.3 billion (or 498.5 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 paid in October) are estimated to be £663 million (29% of the pro-forma 30 September 2023 NAV).

The investment will reduce HGT's outstanding commitments to invest in Hg transactions to approximately £890 million (39% of the pro-forma 30 September 2023 NAV).

Visma attracts new investors for further international expansion in a transaction valuing the company at EUR 19 billion

·      Investment follows another period of strong growth and continued international expansion, with now 17-years of uninterrupted, year-on-year, revenue and EBITDA growth (18% and 22% CAGR respectively, during the period).

·      Visma will welcome around 20 new investors to the shareholder register, worth over €1bn of equity investment. In addition the transaction will result in c. €3bn new investment from existing shareholders including majority investor, Hg.

·      With revenue of €2.4 billion, Visma will continue its growth strategy of international expansion and product innovation, supported by a solid and knowledgeable shareholder base.

London, UK and Oslo, Norway. 21 December 2023.  Visma, a leading provider of mission-critical cloud software in Europe and Latin-America, today announces that it has expanded its shareholder base through a secondary sale to leading international shareholders, to support further international growth.

The transaction, which values Visma at EUR 19 billion, will welcome around 20 new investors to the shareholder register, worth over €1bn of equity investment, with new investors including Altaroc, Jane Street and NYC Retirement System.

The transaction will also result in around €3bn new investment from existing shareholders, including Hg, who will continue its 17-year long investment in the business with a majority stake, in addition to a group of co-investors including ICG, TPG and Visma management. 

"We are delighted to receive this further vote of confidence from Hg and other leading investors, in a transaction that confirms our stellar development and attractive outlook. Visma delivers the digital tools that businesses need to drive efficiency, innovate and stay competitive. Supported by a solid and knowledgeable shareholder base, we are perfectly positioned to continue our unique growth journey", says Merete Hverven, CEO of Visma.

Visma's growth journey

Today Visma is the largest privately-owned software business in Europe, and a leading provider of cloud accounting and ERP solutions to small and medium sized businesses in the region. After a period of significant international expansion, entering France, Germany, Portugal, Peru and Iceland in the last two years alone, the Group is currently present in 28 countries with more than 15,000 employees.

Meanwhile, divestments of non-core assets within IT consulting and cloud infrastructure services in 2022 has further focused the company's business model on standardised SaaS (Software as a Service) products to the private and public sectors. Visma's annualized repeatable revenue (ARR) stood at EUR 2.2 billion at the end of Q3 2023, representing a growth of 17 percent from the same period last year and 17 years of uninterrupted, year-on-year, revenue and EBITDA growth (18% and 22% CAGR respectively during the period).

"Visma's success is a result of the fantastic efforts of our highly skilled and engaged employees. With our industry-leading investments in product development and AI-driven automation of critical business processes, we remain well equipped to capture the strong growth in digital services", Hverven adds.

Nic Humphries, Senior Partner at Hg, said: "Today Visma is Europe's largest private equity owned software business, growing twice as fast now compared to when we first invested in 2006, despite having become a business that's over 20 times larger. This incredible achievement is the result of an investment in modern SaaS products over ten years ago, progressed by a thirst for innovation and a world-class management team led by Merete. We welcome our new investors and look forward to the next chapter of this European tech success story."

For further details:

Hg

Tom Eckersley                                                                                                                    [phone]

HGT

Laura Dixon                                                                                                                         [phone]

Brunswick

Sofie Brewis                                                                                                                        [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, Visma and all named investor websites are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

 

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