A group of investors comprising Northzone Ventures, Amadeus Capital Partners, Martin Bjäringer, Monterro Holdings, Mikael Runhem and family and the company’s employees have agreed to sell EPiServer Group AB, a fast growing provider of web content management platforms, for an undisclosed sum, to IK Investment Partners, a Pan-European private equity firm with Nordic roots. The transaction is subject to competition approval.
EPiServer is a Swedish software company offering a broad range of products and services which, through strong partner networks, provide customers in approximately 30 countries with professional online presence (web content management and web hosting). A range of products offer the ability to drive web traffic to customers’ sites, engagement with corporate web communities, profitable e-commerce and optimised online presence in real time.
Northzone first invested in EPiServer in August 2007. Since then, the investors have capitalised on the strong technology built under Michael Runhem and turned a monoline, predominantly Swedish company, into an international market leader with a broad product offering. During this period, the Company has experienced rapid expansion and more than trebled its revenues with offices in 10 countries on three continents. The exit is a profitable one for all investors and represents an attractive outcome following the IPO process which the owners decided to discontinue in June 2010
Martin Henricson, CEO of EPiServer, commented: “EPiServer has benefited from constantly having developed its products to fast -changing market demands and, through its strong partner network, enabling end customers to transform their online presence into real business results. Our investors have been instrumental in EPiServer’s development and we now look forward to continuing this journey with IK, benefiting from their proven investment approach and track record of building successful companies while maintaining business continuity. IK is the ideal new partner for EPiServer as we continue to grow the business through our international efforts, developing more products and services.”
Northzone Ventures and Amadeus Capital Partners issued a joint statement saying: “Our joint investment in EPiServer has been a great success, delivering strong returns for our funds. This investment is testament to how dedicated venture investors can transform a young, regional technology player into an internationally market-leading company with world class management. ”
Peter Larsson, Chairman of EPiServer, added: “Europe has always produced great technologies but we are not always so good at turning those into great businesses. EPiServer is a company that has successfully built an international market position, thanks in part to the funding and support of our investors. We are now poised to become a global force in building companies’ on line presence and it’s going to be an exciting journey.”
SEB Enskilda acted as financial adviser and Gernandt & Danielsson acted as legal adviser to the sellers.
For further information, please contact:
Hans Otterling, Partner at Northzone tel + 46 70 623 28 28
About Northzone
Northzone is a leading European Venture Capital Partnership with a Nordic stronghold. With eight dedicated partners in Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen – most of whom are themselves former successful, serial entrepreneurs, we work round the clock to help our portfolio companies grab whatever world market they are after. We have been around since 1994, raised and managed 5 different funds with consistent top-tier returns and currently manage EUR 355 million. Among our investments, are Spotify, Tobii, Lastminute, Stepstone, Pricerunner and NextGenTel.