Equistone buys majority stake in TimeToAct

Managing directors Felix Binsack and Hermann Ballé will continue in their management roles. Binsack, Ballé and the management team will retain a significant minority stake in the company of almost 50%, according to a statement. Frank Fuchs will also join the management team as chief financial officer.

Equistone said in the same statement that TimeToAct had already been pursuing a buy-and-build strategy, which it intends to support. The strategy aims to develop its service portfolio and access new market segments. TimeToAct acquired a majority stake in Switzerland-based IPG Information Process Group in January 2021.

Equistone is deploying equity via Equistone Partners Europe Fund VI, which held a final close in March 2018 on €2.8bn, exceeding its €2.5bn target. The vehicle invests €25-200m in lower-mid-market companies with enterprise values of €50-500m, focusing on Germany, Switzerland, the UK, France and Benelux.

The fund was 40% deployed as of September 2020, according to Unquote Data. TimeToAct is the fund's fourth investment since then and also its fourth deal of 2021, although the company is Equistone VI's 21st investment overall. The fund expects to make 25-30 deals in total, according to Unquote Data.

Unquote sister publication Debtwire reported in March 2021 that an unnamed private equity firm had been given exclusivity to acquire TimeToAct, with GCA Altium advising on financing arrangements. Sources told Debtwire that the company was marketed based on EBITDA of €14.4m. The report also stated that, while the company has recurring customers, a significant amount of activity is project-based, which could make leverage more challenging.

Company
TimeToAct was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Cologne. The business provides IT consultancy and software reselling services for functions including process automation and optimisation, as well as business intelligence and customer experience. Its client base includes medium-sized companies, large corporates and public sector organisations. The company comprises the brands ARS, Cloudpilots, Edcom, GIS, IPG, NovaCapta, Synaigy, TimeToAct and X-Integrate.

TimeToAct employs 700 staff at 16 sites in the DACH region and generated revenues of €120m in 2020, marking a 17% increase on the previous year, according to a statement. Its latest publicly available accounts state that the company posted 2019 revenues of €41.4m and 2018 revenues of €55.4m.

People
Equistone Partners Europe – Leander Heyken (partner).
TimeToAct – Felix Binsack, Hermann Ballé (co-managing directors).

Advisers
Equity – WDP (commercial due diligence); EY (financial due diligence, tax); Poellath (legal); Preu Bohlig & Partner (legal); Shearman & Sterling (legal); GCA Altium (debt advisory).
Vendor – Flandor (M&A); Oppenhoff & Partner (legal).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Buyouts
• DACH
• Technology
• Germany
• Equistone Partners Europe