EQT sells StormGeo to Alfa Laval in €363m deal

Eliza Punshi
10 May 2021

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EQT is to sell its majority stake in portfolio company StormGeo т a provider of software-based decision support for weather sensitive operations т to listed company Alfa Laval.

The deal gives the company an enterprise value of NOK 3.6bn (€363m), which is 17.7x its 2020 EBITDA. A source told Unquote that the company generated revenues of NOK 700m and EBITDA of NOK 208m in 2020.

EQT partner Rikke Kjær Nielsen told Unquote: "StormGeo is riding two of the strongest underlying, fundamental trends there are, namely climate change, which is leading to more and more severe weather events, and is the number one cause of business disruptions globally; and secondly, the use of big data and modern tech to derive better-informed decisions. Since the company is riding these two strong trends, the asset attracted quite a lot of interest."

The auction saw participation from various buyer groups, including strategic, industrial and PE firms. Nielsen said that Alfa Laval emerged as "the party with the best combination of being a good future home, good terms and a good price".

She added that the company's end markets like shipping and oil & gas had been somewhat impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, but "since the major driving forces are climate change and use of big data, the company fared pretty well through the pandemic".

The process for the exit was launched at the beginning of 2021 and comes seven years after the GP acquired a majority stake in the company via EQT Mid Market. It currently owns 66% in the company, alongside the management and Norwegian company DNV, which is a significant minority owner.

During its ownership, the GP said StormGeo more than doubled its revenues, EBITDA and its number of customers as a result of strong organic growth, investments in digitalisation and a number of strategic add-on acquisitions.

The transaction is expected to close on 1 June 2021.

Company
Founded in 1997 in Bergen, Norway, StormGeo started as a spin-out from Norway's largest commercial broadcaster, TV2, and is a provider of weather-centric services to more than 2,200 customers globally in a variety of industries, including shipping, energy and onshore industries such as healthcare, hospitality, insurance and retail.

The company is headquartered in Bergen, Norway, and has 24 offices in 15 countries, employing 515 people.

People
EQT – Rikke Kjær Nielsen (partner).
StormGeo – Søren Andersen (CEO).