Genesis Capital exits Servodata to BDO Advisory

The exit comes nearly five years after the GP acquired Servodata in an MBO of a majority stake from the company's founding family. Servodata's management will continue at the helm of the company following BDO's buyout.

Genesis partner Ondřej Vičar told unquote" the sale followed an exclusive process that began with a direct approach from BDO Advisory in late October last year. The process was kept exclusive throughout, with the deal team rejecting inquiries from buy-side parties about whether the company was officially for sale. He said the acquirer had been providing advisory services to Genesis on a separate deal, become interested in certain parts of Servodata's business and recognised the opportunities in assuming control over the business as a whole.

The exit comes the week after Servodata completed its most recent bolt-on. During the sales talks, Genesis had identified Czech software services company Enlogit as an acquisition target for Servodata. Vičar said the addition made perfect sense for Servodata and fit into the strategy it had devised for the company, with the process running parallel to the negotiations with BDO, who were supportive of the deal.

Under Genesis's ownership, managed by the 2008-vintage €40m buyout fund Genesis Private Equity Fund II, the GP completed three add-on acquisitions in total, growing the number of employees from around 50 to 110. In June 2013, Genesis provided funding for the bolt-ons of Prague-based computer training services business S-Comp Centre and software company Doxologic.

All three expansion deals were financed from the company's balance sheet, which had been bolstered with capital reserves following Genesis's MBO. Vičar said the GP had used no leverage in the original buyout of Servodata, as Genesis was expecting to complete several growth acquisitions during its stewardship.

The Genesis partner said his firm's plan when it bought Servodata was to expand the company's service offerings by implementing a buy-and-build model and transforming the company from a family-owned one to a more professionally run business.

Servodata operates across the EMEA region, providing a broad range of IT services, corporate infrastructure and corporate IT advice. When Genesis acquired the company in September 2011, Vičar said it set out to move the company from being mainly focused on the distribution of equipment and services to being a high-margin provider of value-added services. He said all the acquisitions made during the GP's tenure fit into that vision by introducing new services into the group's portfolio of offerings. Genesis did not disclose any financial details about the transaction or original buyout, but sources close to the matter indicated the original deal for Servodata had been no larger than €5m.

The exit comes as Genesis is fundraising for its latest vehicle, Genesis Private Equity Fund III, which is targeting €80m. Earlier this year, GPEF III held a second close on €60m, raising commitments from both local and international investors, including Komerční Banka's investment company, allowing private individuals to gain exposure to the fund.

Company
Founded in 1991, Servodata is a provider of corporate IT infrastructure. The company's services include business process management, business intelligence, customer care services, and IT and project management.

Servodata employs a staff of 110 across its headquarters in Prague and a secondary office in Bratislava, providing its services across the EMEA region.

People
Genesis Capital – Ondřej Vičar (partner); Jan Tauber (managing partner).
BDO Advisory – Petr Kymlička (partner).

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