Insight acquires Episerver from Accel-KKR

According to US-based Insight, the transaction values Episerver at $1.16bn and marks an exit for Accel-KKR after a four-year holding period.

With Insight on board and with the fresh funding, Episerver intends to accelerate its product roadmap, expand sales and marketing efforts, and enhance its partner programme in order to grow the brand.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

Previous funding
Episerver was backed by Northzone and Amadeus Capital Partners in 2007, when the two led a €17.5m funding round for the company.

The business had been set for an IPO in June 2010, but the listing was eventually aborted, reportedly due to the eurozone crisis.

IK acquired Episerver in November 2010 through the GP's €1.25bn Industri Kapital 2007 fund for around SEK 650m, based on the value set for the abandoned IPO.

Episerver was sold by IK to Accel-KKR, a US-based joint venture firm focused on software and IT-enabled investments in December 2014. The deal was understood to have an enterprise value of around SEK 1.25-1.5bn.

Company
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Stockholm and Nashua, US, Episerver is a provider of web content management platforms focused on e-commerce and digital marketing. It has offices in the US, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Spain, UAE, the UK and Vietnam.

People
Insight Venture Partners – Ryan Hinkle, Deven Parekh (managing directors).
Accel-KKR – Jason Klein, Dean Jacobson (managing directors).
Episerver – Mark Duffell (president, CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer – Evercore (corporate finance).
Vendor – Houlihan Lokey (corporate finance).
Company – Goldman Sachs (corporate finance); Lazard (corporate finance).

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