August 13 2021
EQT Private Equity sells Utimaco, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions
- EQT Private Equity alongside its co-investors BIP Investment Partners and PINOVA Capital to sell Utimaco, one of the global leading providers of mission-critical professional cybersecurity and data intelligence solutions for regulated critical infrastructures
- Utimaco has executed an impressive innovation, growth and M&A strategy, including five add-ons in the US, UK, Spain, and Germany and transformed into one of the leading integrated European cybersecurity champions with global reach
- Utimaco has close to tripled its revenues and is expected to generate more than EUR 100 million for the fiscal year of 2022
EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Mid Market Europe fund ("EQT Private Equity") alongside its co-investors BIP Investment Partners and PINOVA Capital has agreed to sell Utimaco Verwaltungs GmbH ("Utimaco" or the "Company") to SGT Capital LLC ("SGT"), a global alternative asset manager with offices in Germany and Singapore.
Headquartered in Aachen, Germany, and Campbell, CA, US, Utimaco is the leading platform provider of trusted cybersecurity and compliance solutions and services. The Company provides on-premises and cloud-based hardware security modules, as well as key management solutions and data intelligence solutions for regulated critical infrastructures. Utimaco has more than 470 employees around the globe and with its focus on protecting data, identities and critical infrastructures against cyber-crime, the Company is a crucial force in contributing to making the world and societies a safer place.
Utimaco has executed an impressive innovation, growth and M&A strategy. In addition to strong organic growth, the Company has completed five strategic add-ons in the US, UK, Spain, and Germany and transformed into one of the global leading integrated European cybersecurity champions with strong capabilities in high-growth areas. Utimaco has close to tripled its revenues, while maintaining its unique focus on R&D, innovation, and customer satisfaction.
Florian Funk, Partner within EQT Private Equity's Advisory Team, said: "Utimaco plays a crucial role in fighting cyber-crime making the world a safer place and we are extremely proud of having supported Utimaco on its mission to create trust in the digital society, as cyber terrorism and data abuse is growing in complexity, sophistication and frequency. We would like to thank you all employees for this exciting journey - We are convinced that Utimaco will continue its successful path with its new majority owner and are happy to stay invested as a minority owner."
Stefan Auerbach, CEO of Utimaco, said: "In the last years, we have built a global platform leader for trusted cybersecurity solutions, providing the highest level of security and compliance to the world's largest corporates and governments. With EQT's support, we have been able to transform the business and accelerate growth by making substantial investments. The collaboration with the EQT team and the board has been fantastic, and we would like to thank you all the great partnership and look forward to the next phase of growth together with SGT."
Joseph Pacini, Co-Managing Partner of SGT Capital, said: "Utimaco is the clear market leader in global cybersecurity as well as data intelligence solutions and has executed an impressive innovation, growth and M&A strategy. We look forward to working with Stefan Auerbach and the entire Utimaco team as well as EQT Private Equity going forwards."
The transaction is subject to regulatory conditions and approvals and is expected to close in Q4 2021. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value.
The sellers were advised by PWC (financial, tax), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (legal) and Strategy& (commercial).
Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334
About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 67 billion in assets under management across 26 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.
More info: www.eqtgroup.com
About Utimaco
More info: www.utimaco.com