Baltisse buys House of Talents from Sofindev

The sale generated an above-average money multiple and return for Belgian GP Sofindev, according to a person familiar with the situation. Under the GP's ownership, the business tripled its revenues and more than quadrupled its EBITDA, the source told Unquote. 

The company's CEO, Steve Rousseau, and Sofindev partner Jan Camerlynck said that House of Talents was expected to post a €19m EBITDA for 2019, Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in Q4 last year.

A source confirmed to Unquote that the Belgian publication De Tijd‘s statement that Rousseau and management will retain a 35% stake in the new company is roughly correct.  

Previous funding
Sofindev acquired a 50% stake in House of Talents in 2016, investing via its €107m Sofindev IV fund, while the remainder was owned by management.

The EBITDA of the business stood at €3.5m when Sofindev acquired the company, Rousseau told Mergermarket last year.

The company has pursued a buy-and-build strategy since then, kicking off with the acquisition of Belgium-based Arcq last year, a staffing company operating in the life sciences sector.

House of Talents recently acquired Belgium-based engineering outsourcer Mides and interim staffer Value Builders, according to Mergermarket. Together, Mides and Value Builders generate €4m in EBITDA, Rousseau told Mergermarket.

Company
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Kortrijk, House of Talents places workers in industries with employment bottlenecks, with a special focus on occupations such as nursing, sales, HR, accounting, butchers and IT specialists. 

In the past two years, the firm's sales increased from €30m to €100m and its gross operating profit quadrupled, according to Belgian publication De Tijd.

People
Baltisse - Filip Balcaen (executive chairman).
House of Talents - Steve Rousseau (CEO).
Sofindev - Jan Camerlynck (partner).

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