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Oakley Capital agrees strategic combination of Grupo Primavera with Cegid

Oakley Capital

26.07.22

4 min read

Oakley Capital (“Oakley”) is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Fund III (“Fund III”) has agreed the strategic combination of Grupo Primavera, the leading business software provider in Iberia, with Cegid, a leading provider of cloud-based management solutions.

As part of the transaction, Fund III will increase its stake in Grupo Primavera and roll over its equity into Cegid. The all-share transaction values the combined company at approximately €6.8 billion.

Oakley acquired Ekon as a standalone platform in 2019, and assembled a group management team to lead an intensive buy and build strategy. With that team Oakley acquired 11 further companies, including the transformative acquisition of Primavera in 2021, to form the newly enlarged Grupo Primavera.

Through acquisitions as well as investment in product innovation and talent, Grupo Primavera has performed well ahead of its business plan, becoming Iberia’s largest software platform in just three years.

Grupo Primavera has 800 employees based in five countries

Serves 165k paying customers

Delivered €76 million of revenue in 2021

Grupo Primavera

Today, Grupo Primavera has 800 employees based in five countries, serves 165,000 paying customers, and delivered €76 million of revenue in 2021.

The company offers a wide range of cloud-based software solutions covering Invoicing, Accounting, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). These offerings serve small businesses and mid-market segments across Spain, Portugal, and Africa, with a particularly strong footprint among accounting professionals. Together, Grupo Primavera and Cegid will have pro forma revenue in the Iberia region of more than €150 million this year.

We are strongly aligned with Cegid’s vision and ambition and have long admired the company. Like Cegid, we have an entrepreneurial and passionate culture with a focus on product excellence, a commitment to customers, and an exciting vision for growth. This is a powerful partnership that will allow us to combine resources and expertise, bringing customers new products and continued innovation, as well as building on our proven track record to expand and integrate new talent and approaches to market needs. Both Cegid and Grupo Primavera share a mission to grow our ecosystem and to offer our combined customers, channel partners, colleagues, and communities renewed value.

Santiago Solanas

CEO — Grupo Primavera

In partnership with Oakley, Grupo Primavera has grown to become a leading player in the Iberian market for business software. Now under the stewardship of both highly experienced management teams and committed shareholders, Cegid and Grupo Primavera are poised to accelerate a global growth strategy with a focus on market expansion and cross sell opportunities. We look forward to being a part of this new chapter for both companies and the significant potential that lies ahead.

Peter Dubens

Managing Partner — Oakley Capital

Cegid

Cegid is a global leading provider of cloud business management solutions for finance (treasury, tax, ERP), human resources (payroll, talent management), CPAs, retail and entrepreneurial sectors.

With 350,000 clients, the business is focused on large and SMB customers, operating in 130 countries across the globe and its installed base is already close to fully migrated to Cloud. Cegid has a strong track record of double-digit organic growth with a high proportion of recurring revenues, underpinned by the SaaS transition of its customer base and new client acquisitions in the Cloud, and investments in next-generation cloud products.

Joining forces with Grupo Primavera is an immense opportunity for both companies and our respective clients. Like Cegid, Grupo Primavera offers useful and innovative solutions to partners and customers in the cloud, and has achieved impressive growth specifically across Spain, Portugal, and Africa. We share an inspiring vision for the future driven by continuous product and technology innovation, and Cegid is fully committed to investing in the combined company’s continued growth. We look forward to working closely with Santiago and the talented team at Grupo Primavera to bring value to a more global customer base.

Pascal Houillon

CEO — Cegid

The combination of Cegid and Grupo Primavera underscores Cegid’s position as a leading provider of cloud-based management solutions.

The addition of Grupo Primavera firmly establishes Cegid’s leadership in Iberia and offers exciting expansion opportunities for Grupo Primavera by leveraging Cegid’s presence in Latin America.

Upon close, Silver Lake will remain the majority shareholder of the combined company. Oakley Capital will join KKR and AltaOne as minority shareholders in the combined company. Together, these shareholders will partner with Cegid CEO Pascal Houillon, Grupo Primavera CEO Santiago Solanas, and the rest of the management team in Cegid’s next phase of growth.

Through our investment and strategic development executed since 2016, Cegid has become a pan European and global player with strong positions in multiple geographies including France, Spain, and Portugal, with important market presence in 12 other countries and selling in more than 130 countries. We are excited about the growth prospects of the combined group and by the creation of the Iberian market leader in the business software space, reinforcing Cegid’s existing position on a broader global scale. The market for digitisation solutions in the European mid-market, namely through financial management software, is large and growing meaningfully, and the combined company will be uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity as it continues to expand.

Christian Lucas

Co-head — Silver Lake EMEA / Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors — Cegid

Upon closing of the transaction, Mr. Solanas and his entire management team will join Cegid, with Mr. Solanas reporting directly to Mr. Houillon.

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2022, and as is customary, remains subject to the information and consultation processes of the relevant employee representative bodies in accordance with applicable laws.

Oakley was advised by Evercore (M&A), PWC (financial & tax), Paul Hastings and Uría Menéndez (legal).