Main Capital exits Cleversoft to LLCP

Rachel Lewis
12 June 2023

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Software-focused investor Main Capital has sold Germany-based regulatory technology company Cleversoft to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP).

LLCP, a self-described "structured private equity" investor that typically deploys a mix of debt and equity securities, beat Nordic Capital and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan-backed Mitratech in the final leg of a Rothschild auction.

Main Capital put the company up for sale in August 2022, in a Rothschild-led process that marketed it off EUR 8m EBITDA, as reported by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket.

The vendor initially expected it to be valued at around 25x EBITDA, implying a EUR 160m-EUR 200m valuation.

Mitratech's initial bid landed around EUR 150m, as reported.

Main Capital acquired the company in late 2018 via its EUR 236m, 2017-vintage Main Capital V vehicle.

The GP said in a statement that Cleversoft's revenues have more than tripled over its ownership period, through organic and M&A growth.

It bolted on CDDS, specialised in anti-money laundering solutions; BusinessForensics, focused on economic crime prevention; and SecondFlow, which develops software for the insurance sector.

LLCP's acquisition will allow Cleversoft to fuel its future growth and to pursue further consolidation the sector, said the vendor, with the company's CEO adding that it plans to aggressively scale the business globally.

LLCP is currently deploying equity via vehicles including Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Europe II, which held a final close in October 2020 on EUR 463m.

Company
Founded in 2004, Cleversoft is a software specialist in the regulatory technology market, serving globally-acting banks, asset managers, and insurers. The company assists financial institutions in complying with an increasing number of complex regulations, under regimes such as PRIIPs, MiFID II, PIB, FIDLEG, and AML-regimes.

People
Cleversoft - Florian Clever (CEO).
Main Capital - Sven van Berge Henegouwen (managing partner).
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners - Matthias Tabbert (head of DACH).