Castik buys Warbug Pincus-backed Ipan, merges with Delegate

Oscar Geen
17 May 2018

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Castik Capital has announced the acquisition and combination of two intellectual property management companies, Warburg Pincus-backed Ipan and Brussels-based Delegate IP.

Castik drew capital from its €1bn buyout fund Epic I, which held a final close in June 2014. The fund targeted five or six investments in total and has an average investment horizon of 10 years.

The sale of Ipan ends a four-year holding period for Warburg Pincus, which acquired the company in a secondary transaction in 2014 and has since added more than 100 new customers and tripled its revenues, according to a statement.

The GP appointed Houlihan Lokey to run the process, which marketed the company based on an EBITDA of €15m for 2017 and €20m for 2018, according to Unquote sister publication Debtwire.

Both companies will continue to operate under their own brands and the existing management teams will remain in place. However, both firms expect to be able to offer their clients additional services as a result of the transaction.

Company
Ipan was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Munich. It partners with 100 law firms in Europe and the US to offer IP validation and management services to its 450 clients. Its software portfolio includes Unycom, IPfolio and IPSS, which enable both corporate IP departments and IP law firms to manage their IP portfolios.

Delegate was founded in 2015 through the merger of Valipat and Envoy. The company has 700 customers and a network of approximately 170 law firms.

People
Castik Capital – Michael Phillips (investment partner).
Warburg Pincus – Max Fowinkel (managing director).
Ipan Group – Jens Lütcke (CEO).
Delegate IP – Patrice Durand (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer – Marks Baughan Securities (corporate finance); PwC (financial due diligence); Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (legal).