The French multinational, Cegid, (in Spain, Cegid Meta4) and Spring Group, have announced a forthcoming accession agreement. The operation, which will be carried out with a stock exchangecreates a solid provider of business management software in Iberia and accelerates the international expansion of the French company, valuing the joint venture at approximately €6.8 billion.
Starting from Cegid’s offer in Iberia for the Retail and Tax sector, which was expanded with the acquisition of Meta4 in 2019 and the most recent acquisition of VisualTime, this agreement has benefits for both companies. On the one hand, the presence of the French company in Iberia is reinforced, while Grupo Primavera, which participated in our Easy&Smart 2022 Software Guide as a prominent brand, sees interesting expansion opportunities in Latin America.
After closing, Silver Lake, world leader in technology investment, will continue to be the majority shareholder of the resulting company. Oakley Capital, creator of the Primavera Group through a series of twelve acquisitions and its majority shareholder, will join KKR and AltaOne as minority shareholders of Cegid. Together, these shareholders will partner with the CEO of Cegid, Pascal Houillon, the CEO of Grupo Primavera, Santiago Solana, and the rest of the management team in the next phase of Cegid’s growth.
Grupo Primavera began its journey in 2019 when Oakley acquired Ekon as an independent platform and subsequently partnered with a top-level management team, led by Santiago Solanas, to execute an ambitious acquisition and integration strategy, including the pivotal purchase of Primavera BSS in 2021. Through these acquisitions and significant investment in product innovation and human capital, Grupo Primavera managed to achieve its goal of becoming the largest Iberian cloud-based management software platform in just three years, much earlier than anticipated in its business plan, and now it is even expanding plus its offer through the union with Cegid.
Spring Group currently has 800 employees spread over 5 countries, It serves 165,000 paying customers and had revenue of €76 million in 2021. The company offers a wide range of cloud-based software solutions spanning billing management, accounting, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. ). This offer covers the entire spectrum of clients from freelancers, micro, small and medium-sized companies in Spain, Portugal and Africa, with a strong presence in the professional law firm sector. Together, Grupo Primavera and Cegid will obtain pro forma revenues in the Iberia region of more than 150 million euros this year.
a huge opportunity
Pascal HouillonCEO of Cegid, commented: “Joining forces with Grupo Primavera is an immense opportunity for both companies and our respective clients.” “Like Cegid, Grupo Primavera offers useful and innovative cloud solutions to partners and customers, and has achieved impressive growth, specifically in Spain, Portugal and Africa. We share an inspiring vision of the future fueled by continuous product and technology innovation, and Cegid is fully committed to investing in the continued growth of the resulting company. We look forward to working closely with Santiago and the talented team at Grupo Primavera to bring value to a more global customer base.”
Santiago Solanas, CEO of Grupo Primavera said: «We are strongly aligned with the vision and ambition of Cegid, we have long admired the company. Like Cegid, we have a passionate and entrepreneurial culture, focused on product excellence, commitment to customers and an inclusive vision of growth. Is about a powerful union that will allow us to combine resources and experience, bringing customers new products and continuous innovation, and building on our proven track record of expanding and integrating new talent and new approaches to market needs. Both Cegid and Grupo Primavera share the mission of making our ecosystem grow, so this union will bring renewed value to our clients, partners, colleagues and our community».
For his part, Christian Lucas, co-director of Silver Lake EMEA and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cegid, said: «Through our investment and strategic development executed since 2016, Cegid has become a pan-European and global player with a strong position in multiple geographies, including France, Spain and Portugal, with a significant presence in 12 other countries and selling in more from 130 countries. We are excited about the growth prospects of the new group and the creation of the Iberian market leader in the business software segment, reinforcing Cegid’s current position on a broader global scale. The market for digitization solutions in the European mid-market, specifically through the financial management software marketis very large and growing significantly, and the resulting company will be in a unique position to capitalize on this opportunity as it continues to expand.”
