HgCapital has today announced an investment in STP Group, a leading provider of insolvency and law practice software, based in Germany, in partnership with the current CEO and co-founder Gunther Thies. Mr Thies retains a significant interest in the business and will continue as CEO. The investment was made from HgCapital’s Mercury Fund which focuses on backing growth buyouts in software and technology sectors in Europe. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, STP employs c.160 people serving over 1,200 legal customers with critical software. STP software supports professionals in both insolvency and commercial law sectors in Germany and central Europe and the company has a strong track record in product development, customer service and innovation. It has grown revenues every year since founding from its mainly subscription business model.
The investment in STP reflects a continued focus at HgCapital in supporting application software and data businesses built and led by European entrepreneurs. Accessing HgCapital’s sector knowledge as well as the opportunity to join a powerful community of relevant technology companies allows for a valuable partnership between HgCapital and the entrepreneurial leaders that it supports.
This represents the ninth investment from the Mercury Fund and the second fund investment in Germany in the last year following other recent investments in France and Denmark. Following completion, the Fund will be approximately 64% invested. Close collaboration between sector teams operating from Munich and London allows HgCapital to locate and then support such investments across Europe.
The Trust will contribute a total of approximately £6.6m. Based on the 30 April 2016 reported NAV, the Trust’s liquid resources available for future deployment, including all announced transactions and the proposed dividend payable in May 2016, are estimated to be £16.3m (3% of the 30 April 2016 NAV). In addition, the Trust has access to a £40m standby facility, which is currently undrawn. The transaction will reduce the Trust’s outstanding commitments to invest in HgCapital deals to approximately £94m (18% of the 30 April 2016 NAV).
HGT : Hg Capital invests in STP