Warburg Pincus broadens Once For All sale to sponsors ahead of launch

Ryan Gould , Josh O'Neill , Georgina Barnard and Charlie Taylor-Kroll
03 May 2023

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Warburg Pincus has invited private equity firms to participate in the sale of Once For All ahead of the launch of a formal auction, sources familiar with the matter said.

The New York-based private equity firm, which had originally targeted a strategic-orientated process for the supply-chain risk-management software specialist, has opted to widen the upcoming sale to include financial sponsors after feedback from prospective trade buyers suggested valuation expectations could prove prohibitive, two of the sources said.

Pitched to suitors off run-rate EBITDA of GBP 40m, Warburg has indicated that Paris-headquartered Once For All could be valued at as much as 25x EBITDA, one of the sources said, representing an enterprise value of around GBP 1bn.

Information memoranda for the Arma Partners and William Blair-run process are expected to be released imminently, one of the sources said.

Buyout groups Cinven Partners, Thoma Bravo and Apax Partners are expected to express interest in the business, the sources said, with Apax likely to look via portfolio company Alcumus, its risk-management solution platform, two of the sources said.

A host of trade buyers showed initial interest in the business, including US-based supply-chain management trade buyers Veriforce, Avetta, Coupa, Fortive and Gordian, two of the sources said. EcoVadis is also among prospective bidders, one added.

Once For All provides supply-chain risk-management software to construction, facilities management, transport and energy end-markets, and rebranded from Fortius after making a string of acquisitions under Warburg's ownership. Warburg acquired the company – then named Supplier Assessment Services – from Capita for GBP 160m in 2018.

Representatives for Warburg Pincus, Once for All, Arma Partners, Cinven, Avetta and Apax Partners declined to comment. William Blair, Thoma Bravo, Alcumus, Veriforce, Coupa, Fortive, Gordian and EcoVadis did not respond to requests for comment.