Deal in Focus: Track record paramount in Altor’s Infotheek deal

In early April, Altor finalised its purchase of a majority stake in Dutch business Infotheek, which offers new, end-of-life, renewed and refurbished IT hardware to businesses.

According to Altor partner Stefan Linder, the GP was introduced to the company by Infotheek's adviser. "I assume they felt Altor was a suitable candidate because of our previous experience as active owners of Dustin, and the long-term development of that company in partnership with entrepreneurs and management."

Indeed, Altor acquired an 80% stake in Stockholm-based Dustin in August 2006. The business has similarities with Infotheek in that it predominantly focuses on the business-to-business market, providing IT products and services. The company is also engaged in refurbishing IT equipment. Altor listed Dustin on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in February 2015, which valued the company at SEK 3.8bn.

During the deal talks, while Altor's strength in the IT reselling market had been proven, the main question was over the GP's ability to engage outside the Nordic countries. "However, we felt comfortable with the domain that Infotheek operates in, albeit distinctly different in terms of geography and offering compared with Dustin, and found the growth opportunities attractive," explains Linder.

And while the majority of Altor's deals have taken place within the Nordic countries, this deal is not its first outside the region, with its acquisition of a majority stake in French ski equipment business Rossignol Group signed in July 2013. Again, the GP was able to win this deal because of its success with Oslo-based Helly Hansen, a retailer of clothes and accessories focused mainly on the skiing, sailing and outdoor activities markets. The deal awarded Altor with a 6x return when it was sold to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in July 2012.

Long-distance relationship
According to Linder, in order to deal with the lack of proximity between GP and company, the Altor team will spend substantial time in the Netherlands working with the management team. "We will work together in two ways. First is the more formal route via Altor being represented on the board of directors. Second, we will have more frequent informal interaction, when we need to discuss, for example, operational improvement opportunities and acquisitions. We will spend a lot of time and resources supporting the company; fortunately there are good links between Stockholm and Amsterdam."

We will spend a lot of time and resources supporting the company; fortunately there are good links between Stockholm and Amsterdam" – Stefan Linder, Altor

Altor was attracted to Infotheek because of its owner-manager structure. Says Linder: "We have good experiences of partnering with owner-managers, which in this case are very strong and very committed."

Following the deal, Altor will support the company's growth both organically and acquisitively. "We feel Infotheek is a strong enough platform to build a pan-European leader. The market is very fragmented and there are lots of smaller local players," says Linder.

In terms of exiting Infotheek, the plan for the time being is to keep as many options open as possible. "Exit is not our core focus right now, we have a long-term outlook for the company. With that said, the vision is always to build attractive, high-quality companies both in terms of market position and internal processes, as well as from an external investor perspective. There could be an exit opportunity in a larger global consolidation but given the company's growth and future expansion plans it should make an attractive candidate for a listing as well," says Linder.

People
Altor – Stefan Linder (partner).
Infotheek – Jordy Kool (CEO).

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