EQT buys UC4 from Carlyle

Sonnie Ehrendal
13 August 2012

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EQT has wholly acquired Austrian software company UC4 from the Carlyle Group.

The deal is valued at €220m. Equity was drawn from EQT VI, which closed at €4.75bn in October 2011. The management team will reinvest in the newco.

EQT partner Per Franzén complimented UC4 for its product offering and customer base, which includes 70 of the Global Fortune 500 companies. He added that EQT will back the company with relevant industrial advisers from its network and drive further expansion into the cloud automation market.

Carlyle Europe Technology partners and UC4 founder Franz Beranek are vendors in the transaction. Managing director Michael Wand said that Carlyle has focused on R&D, product development, marketing and sales, and described the company as having delivered "outstanding growth and returns."

Previous funding
In June 2004, CAPEXIT and Pontis Venture Partners took minority stakes totalling 42% in UC4. Two years later, in April 2006, they exited their stakes to Carlyle, which picked up an 85% shareholding in an MBO and replacement capital deal. The transaction was supported by equity from Carlyle Europe Technology Partners and debt from Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich.

Since then, UC4 has completed three bolt-ons with the financial backing of Carlyle, including AppWorx Corporations in 2007 and SENACTIVE IT-Dienstleistungs in July 2009. In the latter, equity was invested from Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II.

Company
UC4, founded in 1985, develops IT process automation software, enabling organisations to manage change within IT applications and infrastructure. The company currently serves around 2,000 corporate customers in 71 countries. Based in Wolfsgraben, Austria and Bellevue in the US, it employs 300 staff and reports a €62m revenue.

People
Partner Per Franzén worked on the deal for EQT. Managing director Michael Wand represented Carlyle. Jason Liu is CEO of UC4.

Advisers
Equity - Lazard (Corporate finance).
Vendor - Arma Partners (Corporate finance); Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer (Legal); Ernst & Young (Financial due diligence).