Keensight and Pléiade sell SmartTrade to Hg

The company's management team, including CEO David Vincent, will retain a stake in the business.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in January 2020 that SmartTrade was at an advanced stage of the sale process, having received interest from potential buyers in 2019. The company reports high recurring revenues, and that the sale drew interest from both trade and private equity buyers, according to a source familiar with the situation.

During the investment period, the company expanded its geographical presence by opening new offices in Geneva and Milan. The company also plans to expand to Asia, according to a statement.

Hg deployed equity from HgCapital Mercury 2, which held a final close in February 2017 on £575m, surpassing its target of £450m. The fund is now 66% deployed.

Keensight Capital and Hg had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Previous funding
Keensight and Pléiade bought a majority stake in SmartTrade in May 2015. At the time, Keensight was deploying from Keensight Capital IV, which held a final close in October 2014 on €250m.

The company held its first funding round in December 1999, receiving an investment of €610,000 from Seeft Venture, according to Unquote Data. EC1 Capital invested in the company for a minority stake in June 2013.

Company
SmartTrade is headquartered in Aix-en-Provence and was founded in 1999. The company also has offices in the US, Singapore, Japan, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. SmartTrade provides an automated trading platform for the trading of assets, including foreign exchange, fixed income, equities, cryptocurrencies and derivatives. Its client base includes HSBC and NatWest Markets, according to its website.

The company has 200 employees and generates revenues of €35m. The company records EBITDA of €17m, according to the aforementioned source.

People
SmartTrade Technologies – David Vincent (CEO, co-founder).
Keensight Capital – Jérôme Pujol (managing partner).

Advisers
Equity – Deloitte (corporate finance); Bryan Garnier & Co (corporate finance); White & Case (legal).
Company – Arma Partners (M&A); Hoche Partners (legal).

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