KKR takes majority stake in VISMA GROUP

Private equity firm HgCapital has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a 63.5% portion of its stake in Nordic software provider Visma to global investment firm KKR. Through this partial realization, which is subject to customary regulatory clearance and expected to close in November 2010, HgCapital will retain a 17.7% minority equity position in the overall business. Concurrently, Visma’s management team and employees will increase their ownership percentage within the newly restructured corporate framework. For the selling sponsor HgCapital, the transaction crystallizes a highly successful investment cycle that began with the target's public-to-private buyout in 2006. By rolling over a minority stake, HgCapital maintains strategic exposure to the future upside of Scandinavia's leading provider of mission-critical accounting, ERP, and payroll software tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises. For KKR, the acquisition secures a partnership with a highly resilient technology asset that has consistently expanded its operational margins, workforce, and overall market footprint. Under the continued leadership of CEO Oystein Moan, the joint sponsor backing will support Visma's ongoing commercial strategy, focusing on scaling its predictable, regulatory-driven SaaS revenues and executing further pan-regional bolt-on acquisitions.

It is worth noting that the fund Hg Capital took control of Visma Group through an LBO in 2006.