Ardian buys Trustteam in SBO

The GP entered exclusive negotiations with Naxicap in August, Unquote previously reported. 

Trustteam's management team has retained a significant minority in the business, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to Unquote. 

The transaction was managed by Ardian's expansion team via the €1bn fund Ardian Expansion Fund IV, closed in June 2016. The fund provides investment tickets of around €50-60m and an initial investment capacity of up to €100m in companies valued at up to €225m.

Ardian was expected to pay around €100m for Trustteam, according to Belgian publication De Tijd. 

The GP will help the business pursue its buy-and-build strategy, notably in France and Benelux.

Belgium-based banking and insurance company KBC Bank & Verzekering, as well as Dutch bank ING, have provided debt for the transaction.

Previous funding
Belgium-based Gimv invested in Trustteam in 2011, buying a majority stake. The company's founder and CEO, Stijn Vandeputte, and executive director Patrick Cornette held the remaining shares. Fortis Bank provided a debt package for the deal.

Gimv subsequently sold the business in 2014 to Naxicap Partners and Belgian entrepreneur Philip Cracco, while management retained its stake in the company.

Company
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Kortrijk, Trustteam provides network services to SMEs for infrastructure, security and communications, allowing SMEs to outsource their IT management. The company has 120 employees, working across offices in Belgium (Kortrijk and Heusden-Zolder), France (Paris) and Romania (Iași). The company is expecting to generate a turnover of around €25m in 2018, Unquote understands. 

People
Trustteam – Stijn Vandeputte (CEO, founder). 
Ardian – Arnaud Dufer (head of Ardian expansion France)
Naxicap Partners – Axel Bernia (managing director).

Advisers
Equity – Laurius, David Ryckaert, Arnaud Vanitterbeek, Koen Van Cauter (legal); EY Parthenon, Etienne Costes, Hugo Den Breejen (commercial due diligence); EY, Marc Guns, Roelant Bibbe, Cédric Van Damme, Nick Van Gils, Tim Cypers (financial due diligence, commercial due diligence, tax); Marsh, Jean-Marie Dargaignaratz, Denis Van Der Elst (insurance due diligence).
Vendor – Kumulus Partners, Henk Vivile, Bart Collier (M&A); Stibbe, Dries Hommez (legal); Deloitte, Philippe Serzec, Anthony Vinckier, Stijn Dingenen (financial due diligence, tax, ESG due diligence).
Company – Simont Braun, Vanessa Marquette (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• France
• Technology
• Belgium
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• Naxicap
• Secondary buyout