Verdane invests in Conscriptor and Max Manus

Eliza Punshi
23 April 2020

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Nordic private equity firm Verdane has acquired a stake in healthcare software companies Conscriptor and Max Manus.

The GP will merge the two companies to create a new healthcare technology group, with Conscriptor CEO Henric Carlsson becoming the chief executive of the new company.

The two companies in 2019 generated combined annual revenues of SEK 250m (€23m).

Conscriptor's management will own a minority stake in the merged company, while Max Manus has sold its entire stake to the GP.

Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported that Max Manus was to be sold by Anne-Marie Manus, the granddaughter of the company's founder, and her husband Jens Aasmundtveit. The paper reported, without citing any specific sources, that the price of Max Manus is NOK 150m (€13m).

The GP invested from its SEK 3bn Verdane Edda fund, which closed in March 2018. The vehicle has so far invested in eight companies and is a little more than 50% deployed. The fund invests up to SEK 500m in high-growth Nordic companies in the software and consumer internet sectors.

The deal came about as a result of Conscriptor's Henric Carlsson having known the Manus family for years, and the GP having been in talks with Conscriptor's founder for about a year. However, the deal process began before Christmas last year.

Verdane partner Jakob Tolleryd told Unquote that the price of the deal was not adjusted due to the coronavirus, and that he believed in "paying up for really good companies and sticking to what we agreed to (before the pandemic)".

He said: "Not only is this deal good financially, but it is nice to be involved in something that will lead to increased healthcare efficiency in the Nordic countries. It's a win-win."

Company
Founded in 2006 on the Swedish island of Orust, Conscriptor is a provider of medical journal documentation services and dictation software for hospitals and health centres. The company employs 200 staff.

Founded in 1946 in Oslo by Max Manus – a Norwegian WWII resistance fighter – Max Manus is a technology company specialised in communications and technology for the healthcare system. The company provides speech recognition and medical dictation for hospitals, health centres, municipalities and the public sector. The company operates in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and has 50 employees working from offices in Oslo, Århus, Copenhagen and Gothenburg.

People
Conscriptor – Henric Carlsson (CEO).
Max Manus – Martin Elster (CEO).
Verdane – Jakob Tolleryd (partner).

Advisers
Company – Nordhaven (corporate finance).
Equity – Andulf (legal); Deloitte (financial due diligence).