Advent acquires minority stake in Medius

The co-investors will aim to accelerate Medius’ development of core technology - this includes leveraging the company’s AI and ML to strengthen its automation capabilities and achieve the company’s ambition of producing a touchless invoicing process, according to a press release. Medius’ end-to-end and source-to-pay segments will be enhanced through M&A and strategic business investments in the months to follow.

Advent’s director, Douglas Hallstrom, will join the company’s board following the transaction. The sponsor invested in the company through Advent Global Technology II, which has completed around 20-25 deals, according to a source close to the company.

The source told Unquote the deal was done following long dialogues between Advent, the company and Marlin. Advent had been eyeing the spend management space for five years, the source said, adding that it assessed more than 10 companies in the spend management space and Medius continuously stood out. The sponsor conducted diligence in a lot of companies globally and concluded Medius is the most important.

Mergermarket reported in February 2021 that Medius was earmarked for an exit by Marlin, with a dual-track process being the most likely option. The company’s EBITDA at the time was around EUR 30m, and it was targeting around EUR 80m annual revenue by the end of 2021, the report noted.

Medius will focus on organic growth, said the source. It will continue to invest in western Europe and North America. Medius will also focus on product innovation, investing in machine learning tech to drive more automation, added the source. Strategic tuck-in M&A might play a role but is not the core focus.

Advent is currently investing through Advent Global Technology II and Global Private Equity IX, according to its website. Advent technology II held a final close on its hard-cap of USD 4bn in December 2021, surpassing its target of USD 3bn. Much like its predecessor fund, the vehicle will invest in data, software, and cybersecurity companies. It can deploy more than USD 2bn per deal and can invest in deals alongside Advent's flagship strategy, according to Unquote Data.

Advent Private Equity IX held a final close in June 2019 on its hard-cap of USD 17.5bn. It aims to acquire 30-35 companies operating in the industrials, technology, healthcare, consumer, and retail sectors, predominantly in North America and Europe with enterprise values of up to USD 5bn, according to Unquote Data.

Previous funding
In 2011, Medius was backed by Novax and proceeded to make strategic acquisitions and transform its business model to provide Software-as-a-Service while expanding internationally, according to reports at the time.

Novax exited the business in August 2017 in a sale to Medius.

Company
Medius was founded in 2001 in Linköping, Sweden. The company specialises in B2B payments, accounts payable automation, sourcing, and procurement software. It provides a spend management platform that provides the users with full control of cost, cash, and compliance.

It employs more than 500 people and has customers globally. Medius operates in Europe, Asia, and North America. The firm manages transactions worth more than USD 180 billion annually, according to a press release.

People
Medius - Jim Lucier (CEO)
Merlin Equity Partners - Jan-Olivier Fillols (managing director)
Advent International - Douglas Hallstrom (director)

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