Axcel acquires Norwegian company SuperOffice

Eliza Punshi
14 April 2020

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Danish private equity firm Axcel has acquired a majority stake in Norwegian software company SuperOffice.

According to Danish newspaper Borsen, the GP has acquired around 90% of the company, mainly from the Amundsen family and minority shareholder Visma. According to the article's sources, the price of the deal is around NOK 1bn.

The company's management team will reinvest alongside Axcel.

A source close to the deal said that the deal process ran for about three months, with the most difficult issue being securing the debt financing.

The deal is the GP's first investment from Axcel VI, which was launched in December 2019 and held a first close in February on just above €500m. The hard-cap remains undisclosed. The fund will focus on mid-market investments in the Nordic countries, with a focus on Denmark and Sweden. The European Investment Fund is an investor in the vehicle.

Axcel partner Christian Bamberger Bro told Borsen that the price reflected the effects the coronavirus might have on the company.

In a statement, he added that the company's "high-quality customer base and its attractive subscription-based business model with stable recurring revenues and high cash conversion have proven resilient during past business cycles", making it an attractive investment opportunity.

Company
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Oslo, SuperOffice provides cloud-based customer relationship management software to B2B companies in Europe. The company is about to launch generation 9 of its software, which will include an improved user interface, and AI services. The company has a customer base of 5,500 SMEs across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and Lithuania.

People
Axcel – Christian Bamberger Bro (partner).
SuperOffice – Gisle Jentoft (CEO).

Advisers
Axcel – EY (corporate finance); BAHR (legal).
Vendor – Harris Williams (corporate finance); PwC (corporate finance); Wiersholm (legal).