PE-backed Visma acquires OptiWay

With the capital injection, OptiWay intends to develop its service in the Nordic market.

The transaction marks another bolt-on acquisition for Visma, after buying Oslo-based software-as-a-service provider Admincontrol from Norwegian GP Herkules Capital in October 2017.

Norway-based Visma is controlled by private equity investors Hg, Cinven, GIC, Intermediate Capital Group and Montagu Private Equity. A management group holds approximately 6.6% of the shareholder equity in Visma.

Previous funding
KKR sold its entire stake in Norwegian enterprise software business Visma to a consortium of investors led by Hg in June 2017, in a deal valuing the business at NOK 45bn.

Visma has been under private equity ownership since 2006, when it was acquired in a NOK 4.32bn take-private by HgCapital 5. In October 2010, KKR acquired a 76.9% stake in the company, reducing Hg's stake to 17.7% in a NOK 11bn EV deal.

Four years later, Visma was valued at NOK 21bn when Cinven invested in the company alongside KKR and HgCapital, splitting the ownership stakes at 31.3% each, with management holding the balance.

Company
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Kristianstad, Sweden, OptiWay offers consultancy services in geographical IT, and develops geodata products for the local and international markets. It employs a staff of 20.

People
Visma – Carsten Boje Møller (division director). 
OptiWay – Kristofer Turland (CEO).

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• Topics
• Portfolio management
• Nordics
• Technology
• Sweden
• HgCapital
• Cinven
• Intermediate Capital Group
• Build-up