HQIB, Cadence Growth back merger of Horn & Cosifan, PK Office

The buyout deal will see HQIB become the majority shareholder in the new structure, while Cadence will hold a minority stake. The companies' founders and owners will also own a stake in the merged entity.

The locations and brands of the companies will remain independent, according to a statement, but will cooperate strategically and operationally.

The deal values the combined companies in the €25-50m range.

The merger aims to create a platform for managed IT services and IT infrastructure for digital workplaces. HQIB and Cadence intend to support a buy-and-build growth strategy for the businesses, focusing on primary deals in the German market and generally targeting companies with EBITDA of €1-5m.

The deal is Cadence's fourth deal from its debut fund. The vehicle is backed by high-net-worth individuals and family offices. Its total volume is expected to be €20-30m and the GP can write equity tickets of €10-50m in partnership with co-investors. The GP's previous investments include dental platform PlusDental, as reported by Unquote in November 2020.

Backed by the Harald Quandt family network, HQIB makes long-term investments via an evergreen structure. The firm generally invests in profitable DACH-based SMEs with turnover of €10-50m and EBIT of €1-5m.

Company
Founded in 2007, PK Office provides IT services including managed print services and software packages, focusing on SMEs.

Horn & Cosifan was founded in 1993 and provides consulting and support services for IT software and infrastructure projects. The company's clients include public clients and medium-sized financial services, as well as media, industrial and transportation companies.

The new company will combine both hardware and software services, focusing on managed IT and print services, as well as cloud and IT security. The merged company will be based in Moenchengladbach and Frankfurt am Main, with 180 employees.

People
Harald Quandt Industriebeteiligungen – Gregor Harald May (managing partner).
Cadence Growth Capital – Sebastian Eiseler, Leonard Clemens (managing directors).
Horn & Cosifan – Gunter Horn (founder, managing director).
PK Office – André Nellen (co-founder, managing director).

Advisers
Equity – Ebner Stolz (financial due diligence, tax); Goetzpartners (commercial due diligence); Montis CF (corporate finance).

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