Keensight backs MBO for Vision-Box

José Rojo
13 November 2015

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French GP Keensight Capital has invested in Portuguese automated border control specialist Vision-Box alongside the company’s management team.

The stake to be held by Keensight in Vision-Box remains confidential, but a source close to the situation revealed control in the business will be split almost equally between the GP and the management team.

Keensight did not disclose its investment or Vision-Box's enterprise value, but the fund typically deploys €10-30m per deal for companies valued in the €15-150m region.

With the GP as a new shareholder, the company foresees mounting demand for its services in the coming years, helped along by rising airline traffic and stricter border controls. According to its figures, its automated border control services are used in 60 airports worldwide, while it has sold 3,000 units of its identity management technology to date.

The MBO is the second to involve Keensight in the last month, according to unquote" data. In mid-October, the firm backed a capital reshuffle by online temporary work manager Pixid around its management team.

According to unquote" sources, both deals were financed via Keensight's fourth fund, which closed on its €250m hard-cap in October 2014, six months after fundraising began.

Debt
The deal was leveraged at less than 3x EBITDA, with a senior debt package provided by Santander.

Company
Founded in 2001, Vision-Box develops biometric technologies used for security purposes by airports worldwide. The company operates two separate business lines focusing on automated border control and identity management services, respectively.

With headquarters in Lisbon, the business manages additional offices in the UK, Brazil, the US, Dubai and China, among others, and expects to close 2015 with €35m revenues and €7m EBITDA. Its headcount currently sits at 250 employees.

People
Keensight was represented by managing partner Jean-Michel Beghin. Bento Correia and Miguel Leitmann co-founded Vision-Box and are the company's chairperson and CEO, respectively.

Advisers
Equity – Uria Menéndez (Legal); KPMG (Financial due diligence).