Adelis launches majority stake sale of Knightec

Gustav Hoejmark-Jensen and Auri Aittokallio
04 April 2022

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Adelis Equity Partners has launched a sale process to exit portfolio company Knightec, a Swedish technology consultancy, five sources familiar with the situation said.

Carnegie has been mandated as sellside advisor, two of the sources added.

Adelis is looking to sell its majority stake of approximately 70%, with management keen on retaining a minority stake and finding a growth partner, one of the sources said. The company's founder and CEO Dimitris Gioulekas holds a significant minority stake and is the "culture bearer" of the company, two of the sources said, adding that it would be attractive for potential private equity buyers to keep Gioulekas on board.

The process is live, with meetings between buyers and the sellside taking place, and non-binding offers expected sometime in April, one of the sources said.

Knightec's projected FY22 revenue is approximately SEK 1bn (cEUR 97m), three of the sources said, with one of them adding that the company turned over approximately SEK 900m in FY21. LTM EBITDA stands at around SEK 130m, this source added.

Knightec could trade at an EV between SEK 1.3bn and SEK 1.5bn, one of the sources said. The 2019 take-private acquisition of Norwegian Data Respons by AKKA Technologies, is a comparable deal, one of the sources said. AKKA bought Data Respons for approximately EUR 366m, representing an EBITDA multiple of 24.19x, according to Mergermarket's database.

Knightec is likely to draw interest from strategic buyers, two of the sources, a local banker, and a local private equity executive tracking the situation said. AKKA Technologies, Alten, Bertrandt, Accenture and Capgemini are among potential buyers, one of the sources said. Given Knightec's focus on the local market, Swedish engineering consultancies Sweco and Afry would be the most logical takers, the other source and the PE executive added.

The company is likely to attract good interest from sponsors, too, one of the sources, the PE executive, and another local banker tracking the situation said.

Knightec, established by Gioulekas and current Business Unit Manager Håkan Jarnbjer in 2003, was acquired by Adelis in 2017 for an undisclosed sum.

The company offers technology, digitalisation, and leadership consultancy for various industries, including the telecom, life science, automotive, defence, energy, and packaging sectors. It has approximately 800 employees, according to the company's website.

Adelis and Afry declined to comment. Knightec, Carnegie, Sweco, Akka Technologies, Accenture, Capgemini, Bertrandt and Alten did not respond to requests for comment.