<aside> 🌐 **Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with total assets under management of €60bn+ and makes long-term majority and minority investments across two core asset classes, private equity and credit. The Permira private equity funds have made approximately 300 private equity investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Healthcare and Services. Permira employs over 450 people in 16 offices across the Europe, the United States, and Asia.
The Permira funds have an extensive track record in technology, having invested more than €15 billion in 48 companies across SaaS, cybersecurity, digital commerce, FinTech, and online marketplaces. The Permira funds have backed and helped scale some of the largest and fastest-growing technology businesses globally, including McAfee, TeamViewer, Mimecast, Klarna, GoCardless and Nexthink, as well as some of France’s best-known technology companies including Mirakl, Exclusive Group, and SAFTI.**
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****In 1985, the number of global cross-border M&A deals worldwide was 472. By 2022, that number had increased to more than 13,000, according to the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances. Favourable economic conditions, increased competition and growing investor sophistication have been the most influential drivers of the rise in cross-border M&A during that time, and whilst the volume of transactions has slowed in 2022 so far, there is no doubt that the trend of M&A as a means for international expansion is here to stay. For investors, then, having the ability to facilitate these transactions has never been more important.
Permira has a strong track record of supporting portfolio companies with add-on and transformative M&A, having completed more than 100 bolt-on acquisitions in the funds’ current portfolio, focusing on capacity, geographic, and product expansion as well as scale. This experience makes Permira an attractive partner for businesses that have global expansion on their list of priorities for growth.
To bring this to life in Europe, Exclusive Group, the specialist cybersecurity solution distributor listed on Euronext Paris, has made more than 20 acquisitions globally over the last eight years and has a strong reputation as the market’s leading consolidation platform. Permira has supported the company through this journey since 2018 by providing due diligence capacity, access to our global network and by helping conduct selective and efficient target screening.
Beyond Europe, there is a similar story across the portfolio. During the last six months, US cap table management platform Carta has acquired two European companies, Vauban and Capdesk, as it executes its international expansion strategy, whilst the journey of customer service software giant Genesys is evidence of how M&A can be used to drive global expansion over the longer term. Originally owned by French telecommunications equipment company Alcatel-Lucent, Genesys was acquired by the Permira funds in 2011 and has since executed an expansive M&A strategy (more than 15 acquisitions in total) with Permira’s support, including the transformational take-private transaction of Interactive Intelligence in 2016.
Permira’s ability to support businesses goes beyond just facilitating transactions; the firm has dedicated post-transaction integration capabilities that can be leveraged to ensure synergies are maximised and value is created from day one. With Exclusive Group, Permira has supported the company’s M&A strategy post-acquisition with an approach aimed at maximising the target company’s performance while preserving its DNA and entrepreneurial spirit by focusing on founder retention.
