mynth
10/2024

ECIT acquired by TOWERBROOK

NORWAY Professional Services / Consulting & Audit / Accounting & Audit EV 3b - 100b NOK

Context

Olympus BidCo AS officially finalizes the voluntary recommended offer to acquire all outstanding shares of ECIT AS, commanding an implied enterprise value of . At the time of this comprehensive financial settlement in October 2024, ECIT AS generated an annual revenue of NOK3.8B alongside an adjusted EBITDA of NOK525M. This profitability profile aligns the transaction with an EV/EBITDA multiple of and an EV/Revenue multiple of . The financial architecture of the buyout incorporates the reported net debt of 827 million Norwegian kroner for ECIT AS, calculated as of the first half of 2024 under IFRS 16 accounting standards. Consequently, the agreed cash consideration of 10 Norwegian kroner per individual share translates to a total equity value of approximately 4.65 billion Norwegian kroner. Under the negotiated transaction terms, eligible rollover shareholders retain the option to receive settlement via a combination of cash and equity in the parent company, capped at a maximum aggregate rollover threshold of 2.6 billion Norwegian kroner (representing 55.8 percent of the outstanding share capital). Following the expiration of the extended offer period on October 16, 2024, Olympus BidCo AS formally secured 462,335,387 shares, representing 99.4 percent of the outstanding share capital. Having successfully surpassed the 90 percent statutory threshold, the acquiring entity initiated a compulsory acquisition procedure for the remaining minority shares in accordance with section 4-26 of the Norwegian Private Limited Liability Companies Act, maintaining the identical redemption price of 10 Norwegian kroner per share. Following this final regulatory step, TowerBrook Capital Partners will execute the formal delisting of the B-class shares from the Euronext Growth Oslo exchange. To execute this complex public-to-private transaction, TowerBrook Capital Partners mandated ABG Sundal Collier ASA as the lead financial advisor, alongside Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS for legal structuring. Conversely, the board of directors at ECIT AS retained SpareBank 1 Markets AS to manage the financial evaluation, with Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS acting as legal counsel. Furthermore, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB provided the independent fairness opinion to the selling board. The acquisition received absolute regulatory clearance from both the Norwegian and Swedish Competition Authorities prior to the final settlement date scheduled for November 7, 2024.

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Target

Founded in 2013, ECIT is a Nordic hybrid service and software platform supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. The Norwegian organization maintains a widespread physical footprint encompassing ten different countries across the region. To execute its hybrid delivery model, the corporate entity coordinates a dedicated workforce of more than 2,500 employees. The operational portfolio explicitly encompasses professional accounting, complex payroll processing, and business advisory services combined with technology-enabled workflows. Historically, the enterprise has executed a highly aggressive inorganic expansion strategy, completing over 135 individual acquisitions since 2013 to consolidate localized entrepreneurship under a unified international umbrella. Through its primary administrative base in Norway, the business orchestrates this consolidated network of professional branches and software development hubs to manage regional administrative mandates. The integrated architecture allows the technology provider to deliver standardized financial reporting and proprietary software modules to a broad regional client base.

Ent. Value

Equity Value

Multiples

EV / Revenue

EV / EBITDA

EV / EBIT

Historical Financials (NOK)

FREE VIEW
Year
Rev
EBITDA
EBIT
2024
3750M
525M
2023

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REFERENCES

Valuation range: EV 3b - 100b NOK

Revenue range: 2.5b - 5b NOK

EBITDA range: 450M - 900M NOK

Note: This page provides detailed data on a private equity M&A transaction. Detailed and exact financial metrics for the acquisition of ECIT by TOWERBROOK are reserved for mynth community members. Register for free to unlock full data.

Authors: This transaction was contributed by a verified mynth contributor and cross-checked against available transaction documents and official company communications.

Press release: view release

Target: ecit

Acquirer: towerbrook