(Bloomberg) — Visma AS has secured investment from backers including Norway’s government pension fund and billionaire John Fredriksen’s Aeternum Capital, valuing the software group at 16 billion euros ($18.9 billion).
Singaporean wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd. and Norwegian technology investor Vind are also buying stakes in the Oslo-based company, according to a statement that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report.
European buyout firm Hg will remain Visma’s biggest shareholder and will not be reducing its holding. ABG Sundal Collier and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acted as placement agents on the transaction.
The expansion of Visma’s investor base comes as private equity firms continue to pour vast sums of money into the technology sector. They’ve invested $54 billion in European technology and communications companies so far this year, 158% more than at this point in 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Visma is one of the region’s biggest private software firms, having secured funding from Warburg Pincus and TPG last year in a deal that valued it at more than $12 billion. Its business has remained steady during the coronavirus pandemic, with revenue rising 24.5% year-on-year in the second quarter to 520 million euros, according to its website.
The group offers cloud software that small businesses can use for enterprise resource planning and accounting, as well as other online products for electronic invoicing, procurement and debt collection.
“The future looks bright for the growth of digital services, as businesses increasingly see the value of cloud solutions to handle their most important business processes,” Visma’s Chief Executive Officer Merete Hverven said in the statement.
Hg, one of the biggest backers of private software businesses in Europe, led the original delisting of Visma in 2006 and has since reinvested in the business several times. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and General Atlantic are also among investors to have previously bought stakes in the business.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
