KKR injects $70m into Ivalua

KKR invested through its $711m Next Generation Technology fund, which closed in late 2016. The fund was launched in March 2016 and held a first closing on $687m in November. The vehicle is the GP's first fund dedicated to growth investments in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector.

Having secured a minority stake, KKR will join Ardian as a shareholder in the business. The French GP invested €3m in Ivalua in 2011, investing via various FCPI and FIP vehicles from its Innovation & Growth range. The fresh funds were at the time earmarked to help finance Ivalua's international development, notably in the US, as well as consolidate its software-as-a-service offering to the SME market. Ivalua has since then opened a second headquarters in California.

KKR is no stranger to the French tech scene. It previously backed Fotolia, Capitaine Train and more recently OVH – a French website hosting and cloud services provider that received a sizeable €250m round of funding from KKR and Towerbrook in mid-2016.

The $70m investment makes Ivalua one of the select few French tech businesses that raised mega-rounds of funding in recent years. It notably joins the likes of Sigfox, which secured a €150m series-E at the end of last year, and Blablacar, which received $200m in a series-D from Insight Venture Partners and existing backer Lead Edge Capital in 2015.

Company
Established in 2000, Orsay- and California-headquartered Ivalua is a developer of spending management software. Its software, which is available in both software-as-a-service and licence mode, aims to cover most of its users' purchasing department requirements, including performance management, e-sourcing, management of supplier relations and risk.

People
KKR – Lucian Schoenefelder (director); Stephen Shanley (principal).
Ardian – Laurent Foata (head of Ardian Growth).

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