Partners Group sees several opportunities within digital transformation; Thoma Bravo-backed Intel 471 picks up SpiderFoot

SpiderFoot is a provider of open-source intelligence, attack surface management and digital investigations.

Good morning Eurohubsters, Nina Lindholm here with the final Dealflow of the week.

After last week’s pharma deal flurry, the tech sector has made a comeback. We’re also seeing more add-on deals as opposed to platform announcements, potentially due to the tough market conditions. Speaking of tech, I had a great chat with Partners Group’s Kim Nguyen about digital transformation as a value-creation tool, and the tailwinds the trend is creating. But before I share more about that, let’s look at a deal first.

On the web. I mentioned tech and add-ons, and here we have both in one place. Thoma Bravo portfolio company Intel 471 announced it has acquired SpiderFoot, a Tallinn, Estonia-based provider of open-source intelligence, attack surface management and digital investigations.

Intel 471 is a provider of cyber threat intelligence for intelligence, security and fraud teams across the globe.

The Dallas, Texas-headquartered company was acquired by Thoma Bravo in September 2021. Intel 471 will invest in SpiderFoot’s existing tools and will integrate SpiderFoot’s capabilities into its TITAN platform.

“Organisations of all sizes are facing unparalleled cybersecurity challenges as the complexity and severity of attacks intensifies,” said Mark Arena, CEO of Intel 471. “At Intel 471, our mission is to protect the world’s organisations from today’s most prevalent cyber risks and threats. Our acquisition of SpiderFoot reinforces our commitment to our mission by enhancing our portfolio and providing premier cyber threat intelligence services to organisations across the globe.”

Thoma Bravo, headquartered in Chicago, invests in software and technology companies.

Going digital. I recently interviewed Kim Nguyen, co-head of the private equity services business at Partners Group, to get his thoughts on digital transformation and its use in value creation. Earlier this year, Partners Group announced the acquisition of Version 1, a Dublin-headquartered digital transformation services provider, from Volpi Capital.

As the acquisition was made as part of Partners Group’s thematic focus on digital transformation, I was keen to hear more about how the trend is affecting different sectors.

“All sectors can benefit from digital transformation,” Nguyen said. “The emphasis varies between sector and company. In services, for example, it is all about client satisfaction to ensure sustainable organic growth. Hence, automation of manual, low value-added activities is a key enabler to free up time of client facing front-office roles and to redirect the focus on satisfying client needs.”

Major benefits of digitalisation Nguyen mentioned were reducing the cost position and increasing revenues.

If you’re interested to hear what sectors are lagging behind in terms of digital transformation, and what opportunities Partners Group sees in the trend going forward, read my full interview with Nguyen here.

Charitable. Back on the deal front, we have another add-on acquisition. Montagu-backed Eudonet announced it has acquired Carisinfo and its solution provider GiveXpert.

Thonon-les-Bains-based GiveXpert is a provider of online donation services in France, having supported more than 200 clients to raise more than €228 million since 2015. GiveXpert’s software-as-a-service platform allows non-profit organisations to attract donors and to design and manage their fundraising campaigns.

Eudonet provides customer relationship management (CRM) software for charities, professional associations, higher education organisations and the public sector. The Paris-based company also has a presence in Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and the UK.

“This acquisition strengthens our offering in a strategic area for our clients, allowing them to further develop their web presence and enhance their fundraising,” said Antoine Henry, CEO of Eudonet.

London-based Montagu is a private equity firm with €10 billion in assets under management that looks to invest in mid-market companies within healthcare and tech-enabled sectors.

To find out what Eudonet will focus its investment on, read the full report here.

Holidays are coming. Let’s finish the deal news with a holiday-related one. Triton-backed Sunweb Group announced the acquisition of travel operator Airtours.

Airtours, headquartered in Stockholm, specialises in weekend trips and sun holiday charter packages. It is the largest Swedish-owned travel operator, with approximately 100,000 travellers annually, according to Triton.

Sunweb is a digital holiday retailer headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, and is one of Europe’s largest tour operators, according to Triton. The acquisition of Airtours complements Sunweb’s business in Denmark and establishes a footprint in Sweden.

“In 2022, we have been leveraging all the hard work done during the two pandemic years, resulting in the best financial results in our history, increased market shares in our home markets, the introduction of cruises, and the launch of Eliza was here in UK and Sunweb in Sweden, following a successful launch in Denmark in 2021,” said Mattijs ten Brink, CEO at Sunweb Group. “In 2023 we continue building on our improved market position and maintaining our growth. For Scandinavia, we now take an important step towards becoming one of the largest players in the market.”

Triton Partners is a London-headquartered private equity firm that invests across strategies in the industrial tech, services, consumer and healthcare sectors.

That’s it for this week. You’ll get a bit of a break from me as Craig returns to write to you on Monday, and we’ll return to our regular schedule. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Nina