Deal in Focus: Omnes reaps 5x in Nomios exit to Infradata

Omnes Capital and Odyssee Ventures recently sold their stake in French IT security specialist Nomios to Netherlands-based group Infradata, making 5x money. The deal marks the first French acquisition for Infradata, which has been backed by Waterland Private Equity since 2015, and sees it pursue the international expansion plan put in place by the GP.

Bringing to an end a holding period of almost four years, Omnes says it achieved quick success with the group, which enabled it to exit sooner than planned: "Given the group's growth rate and its rapid development, we felt that it was good to seize the exit opportunity at this time," explains Laurent Espic, associate director at Omnes.

Created in 2004 and based in Boulogne-Billancourt, Nomios is a specialist integrator in the fields of IT security and networks. The business offers a wide range of services combining integration and maintenance of IT security systems, in addition to audit and consultancy services.

Nomios had started partnering with several major French companies listed on the CAC40. We were reaching a threshold, so it was time for us to move on" – Laurent Espic, Omnes Capital

With the backing of Omnes and Odyssee Ventures, which both backed the group's 2013 management buyout alongside founding director Sebastien Kher and key company executives, the group doubled its revenues in three years, with turnover growing from €15.4m in 2012 to €31m last year. Another key development was the opening of three new branches in Lyon, Toulouse and Lille.

The group now has a headcount of 71 across its five branches, 75% of whom are engineers. It has 300 active clients in the banking, insurance, services, internet, manufacturing, media and public sectors.

Global goals
"Nomios had started partnering with several major French companies listed on the CAC40. We were reaching a threshold, so it was time for us to move on,'' says Espic. The idea, he says, was to partner with a company with an international reputation, such as Infradata. The Netherlands, Germany and the UK will, for instance, be complementary territories, according to Espic.

A Netherlands-based network and security systems integrator, Infradata was acquired by private equity house Waterland in 2015. The GP took a 54.4% stake through the management buyout, according to Dutch corporate finance specialist Oaklins, which advised Waterland on the transaction. Management retained a 5.6% stake and the company founder held a 32.5% holding, according to Oaklins, while the remaining 7.5% went to another private investor that had previously backed the group.

Says Espic: "One of the key requirements of [Nomios founder] Sébastien Kher, aside from finding a partner whose influence was adequate for the company's next growth stage, was to be able to reinvest in the group – that was definitely on his wish-list."

A major change in the new capital structure, however, is that Kher and key company executives will no longer be majority shareholders in the group. Indeed, although the latter will hold some shares in the newco following the deal, Infradata has acquired 100% of Nomios.

The enterprise value of the deal was not confirmed by either of the GPs, though several market sources value it at around the €50m mark. According to Omnes, the disposal of Nomios enabled it – as well as co-investor Odyssee – to reap a 5x return on investment. In total, the investors provided a combined €5m in funding, two-thirds of which came from Omnes.

The deal is to be finalised in a matter of weeks and follows Omnes's recent divestment of Simp in a trade sale to Baring Private Equity Asia-owned HCP Packaging, a sale on which the GP made 4.7x money.

Espic describes a moderately competitive exit process with suitors of a predominantly industrial background, due to "the nature of the business".

Waterland declined to comment on the transaction when contacted by unquote".

People
Omnes Capital – Laurent Espic (partner); Antoine Joris (associate).
Odyssee Ventures – Sebastien Sassolas (managing director); Julien Andrieux (investment director).

Advisers
Vendors – Rothschild Transaction R, Anthony Benichou (corporate finance); DTMV & Associés, Arnaud Vanbremeersch, Jean-Baptiste Barsi (legal); Lennox Avocats, Anne-Sophie Riaud (legal).

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