Main Capital Partners exits Onguard to trade

Charly Zwemstra, managing partner at Main Capital, told Unquote that the time was right to exit following a five-year investment cycle, and, having monitored the synergies between Onguard and Visma, the GP set up meetings between the two management teams to discuss a sale.

Zwemstra told Unquote that the company's revenues almost tripled during the investment period and its profitability was increased from close to zero to several million euros.

Main Capital bought a majority stake in Onguard in January 2015 as part of an MBO. Main Mezzanine Capital, the GP's mezzanine arm, provided OnGuard with a mezzanine loan, according to Unquote Data. The GP deployed equity from Main Capital III, which held a final close on €40m in June 2014.

During the investment period, the company acquired software-based business CreditTools via a combination of bank financing, additional capital from Main and capital from its shareholders.

The GP stands to make a double-digit money multiple on the exit, with IRR substantially above 20%, said Zwemstra. The exit multiple was higher than the entry multiple, Zwemstra said. He added that the performance is in line with the firm's recent funds.

Main Capital held a first close for its sixth vehicle in December 2019 on €535m. Zwemstra told Unquote that the GP plans to end Q1 with four investments from the vehicle and is currently in the process of closing one deal.

Company
Founded in 1993, Onguard provides cloud-based order-to-cash services for businesses, including risk management, invoicing, and credit management and collection. The business has a client base of 600 companies including Aon, Lloyds Bank and BMW.

The company has a headcount of 120 and reports revenues of €15-20m.

People
Main Capital – Charly Zwemstra (managind partner).
Onguard – Marieke Saeji (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – HSA (legal).

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