Nordic Capital exits Vizrt; reinvests via secondary vehicle

No financial details were disclosed.

The secondary acquisition vehicle, which forms part of the new Nordic Capital-led acquiring consortium, was established with investment vehicles managed or advised by Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Vintage Funds, Pantheon and Coller Capital as co-leads, according to Nordic Capital's press release.

According to Nordic Capital, Vizrt's revenues have doubled since the GP's 2015 take-private of the company, and its profits have tripled. This growth was driven organically by expanding into new regions and investing in product development, as well as through the acquisition of US peer NewTek in 2019, according to the GP's statement.

Previous funding
Oslo-based FSN Capital acquired a 16.27% minority stake in Vizrt in November 2008 via FSN Capital III, according to Unquote Data. It subsequently realised a portion of its investment, bringing its stake to 15.8%.

Nordic Capital took the company private in 2015 in a deal valuing the company at NOK 2.5bn, according to Unquote Data. The GP offered NOK 37 per share for the entirety of the share capital in an agreement with Vizrt to merge the business with two Nordic Capital-controlled holding companies, 24 October Holding and Nor Merger Sub. FSN sole its entire holding in the transaction.

Company
Headquartered in Bergen, Norway, Vizrt develops software that creates real-time 2D and 3D broadcast graphics, serving the news, sport and private enterprise sectors.

The group, which employs 600 people across 16 countries worldwide, consists of three brands: Vizrt, NewTek and NDI. The company's clients include MTV, CNN, Sky Sports, Al Jazeera and the supreme court of the UK, among others.

Advisers
Equity – Evercore (financial due diligence); Kirkland & Ellis (legal); Gernandt & Danielsson (legal).

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