PCB Partners advises Apax Funds as Lutech finalised the acquisition of Atos Italia S.p.A, which simultaneously changed its name and brand, becoming Lutech Advanced Solutions S.p.A.

The acquisition of Lutech Advanced Solutions makes it possible to strengthen the Group’s offering thanks to complementary skills in strategic sectors such as, for example, Energy and Telco & Media, and in technology areas such as Digital Twin, Hyper Automation, High Performance Computing, Workplace Management and Business Platform. The combination of skills and resources in the Lutech Group creates a new top player in the digital market in Italy, an innovation leader supporting the transformation and growth of companies and institutions.

“This transaction represents an important milestone in our growth strategy, and we are proud to have Lutech Advanced Solutions in our Group to build a more digital future for our country,” said Tullio Pirovano, Executive Chairman of Lutech Group and President of Lutech Advanced Solutions. “With Lutech Advanced Solutions, the Lutech Group becomes an even more complete reality able to offer a high-level digital offering, ready to seize the greatest opportunities of the digital transition of Italian and European companies and institutions.”

“We are excited about this new chapter in our history and about working together, creating the new top Italian player in digital services,” said Giuseppe Di Franco, Managing Director of Lutech Group and CEO of Lutech Advanced Solutions. “Lutech is a well- established and authoritative reality in the Italian digital landscape, and benefiting also from the extended partnership with Atos Group we are now able to serve companies even better in their digital transformation journey.”

Lutech and Apax Partners LLP were supported by several advisors, including Bain & Company (commercial advisor), Legance (legal advisor), PCB Partners (M&A advisor), and PWC (financial and tax advisor).

“Congratulations Ben on this deal. We can all be very proud of this deal that will set the scene in the digital market in Italy, creating a new powerful champion for the digital growth of my country” – CEO, Atos Italia

January 20, 2023

PCB Partners acted as exclusive sell-side advisor to Markettiers4DC on their sale to Waterland Private Equity

Private equity firm Waterland has taken a majority stake in Markettiers4DC, the data and insight, broadcast and virtual events and live streaming group.

The initial deal and follow on funding will enable Markettiers4DC to expand internationally – focusing initially on the North American market – through a “buy and build” programme that will include acquisitions as well as accelerating investment in services and talent.

Markettiers4DC, founded by CEO Howard Kosky (pictured, second left) in 1994, now has a team of 150 people in the UK and UAE, working with clients including Rolls-Royce, Linkedin and Unilever, and grew revenue by 30% last year. Kosky will continue to lead the business, supported by Markettiers4DC group MD Peter Mitchell, Nicky Marks, MD of research arms Censuswide and Opinion Matters, and Scott Jackson, MD of virtual events and live streaming division Through The I.

Kosky said: “In Waterland, we have found an experienced and supportive partner to help us achieve our growth ambitions. We see strong potential to expand our business internationally, particularly in the US, and Waterland’s experience as a specialist buy and build investor will help deliver our acquisition strategy, finding the right businesses to partner with and integrate into the growing Markettiers4DC network.”

Independent private equity firm Waterland was founded in the Netherlands in 1999. It has investments in more than 880 companies in 80 markets and manages €9 billion in funds. Its experience in the marketing and communications industries includes investment in Swiss corporate communications firm Farner Consulting and digital agency group Slideshow.

Waterland Private Equity associate principal Ryan Hallworth said: “Markettiers4DC has all the hallmarks of an exciting Waterland investment. Successful for nearly 30 years with a history of growth and innovation and a global client base, the business is well placed to expand both in the UK and internationally.

“The company operates in a highly-fragmented market offering compelling opportunities for value-adding acquisitions in both the UK and North America. We very much look forward to working alongside Howard and the team as they embark on the next stage of their growth journey.”

The deal was brokered by PCB Partners, acting as the sell-side advisor to Markettiers4DC. Kosky said: “Markettiers4DC worked with the team at PCB Partners to find the right investor to help accelerate our growth plans. The PCB team brought a deep knowledge of the market, and took an entrepreneurial approach to help find us the perfect partner in Waterland.”

PCB partner Andrew Bloch (pictured, left) added: “It was an absolute pleasure working with Howard and the management team at Markettiers4DC to help them find an investor to realise their ambitious expansion plans. In Waterland, they have found the perfect partner. I look forward to watching them go from strength to strength.”

Also pictured are PCB Partners founder Ben Doltis (second right) and Perry Yam (right), global co-head of corporate and securities at Mayer Brown, which provided legal counsel for the deal.

5 December 2022

PCB Partners advises Remedium Partners on its sale to M3 inc.

Remedium Holdings Ltd has announced their acquisition to M3, Inc. Headquartered in London, Remedium are the leading international physician recruiting company for the NHS in the U.K.

About Remedium Partners

Remedium is an international physician recruiting company headquartered in London, U.K. It also
has candidate-sourcing operations in Mumbai, India, and focuses on placing foreign-educated and
trained physicians into the NHS system. Due to the staff shortages, NHS has a strong demand for
recruiting physicians from other countries. There is an increasing appetite to recruit physicians from
abroad and to reduce the use of expensive locum tenens services. Remedium is the leading player
in bringing international physicians to the U.K. and has expertise in immigration, licensing, and
relocation services for foreign physicians from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to the U.K.

About M3 Inc.

3 operates m3.com, a specialized web portal for medical professionals that delivers healthcarerelated information to its 310,000+ physician members in Japan. Presence outside of Japan includes
the U.S., U.K., France, China, Korea, and India, with aggressive business expansion overseas that
has amassed 6 million physicians across its global platforms. This allows delivery of services including
marketing support, marketing research, and job placement support that leverage the platform’s value
as a media channel.

November 17, 2022

PCB Partners advises Apax Funds as Lutech enter into exclusive negotiations to acquire Atos Italia S.p.A, creating a new leader in digital transformation.

Commenting on the announcement today that Lutech, backed by the Apax Funds, enters into exclusive negotiations to acquire Atos Italia S.p.A, Ben Doltis, Managing Partner of PCB Partners, the sector specialists who advised Apax on the transaction, said:

“This is a big deal at a big moment with big implications. At a time when economic uncertainly and upheaval have led many markets to become frozen, the digital transformation space remains on fire. This a very astute outcome for all parties concerned. PCB Partners is proud to have played its part.”

The Transaction

Lutech, an IT services, software and technology company in Italy and other parts of Europe, and a portfolio company of funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax Funds”), today announced it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Atos Group to acquire Atos Italia S.p.A. (“Atos Italia”).

Operating across 6 diversified verticals, and servicing major Italian companies, Atos Italy has built a very solid franchise and benefits from a strong reputation in the IT services market, with a total of approximately 1,600 skilled employees in over 5 sites across the country.

Following the acquisition of Lutech by the Apax Funds in 2021, this transaction is an important step towards creating a market leader in the rapidly evolving digital transformation sector. This combination will help drive increased scale, strengthen Lutech and Atos Italia’s offering by adding complementary expertise, while also bolstering their presence in strategic sectors. The integration between the two companies will take place gradually, ensuring business continuity and high level of customer service and support.

“This is an important announcement that brings together two major players in the Italian IT market”, announced Tullio Pirovano, CEO of the Lutech Group. “Today’s news is a fundamental step towards achieving our goal, in partnership with Apax, of creating a leading Italian company in the digital transformation space. This transaction brings together two cutting-edge companies, combining our skills and cultures and consolidating our leadership position as an end-to-end player in the digital market.”

Gabriele Cipparrone, Partner at Apax, added: “We are proud to partner with Lutech in this transaction. When the Apax Funds first invested in Lutech we saw the opportunity to consolidate the Italian IT services market, and this transaction is a crucial step in that process. By combining the complementary scale, expertise, and capabilities of Lutech and Atos Italia into one group, we are creating a leading provider in the market that can offer an even wider suite of products and services to clients across a more diversified set of sectors. We are excited to partner with both teams to deliver on our ambitious growth plans.”

“A new leading company will be born to enhance the country’s digital growth and support our customers.” declared Giuseppe Di Franco, President and CEO of Atos Italia. “The entire management team is proud to announce that today we have taken a further step in the consolidation of the Italian digital market. The new company will benefit from continued cooperation with the Atos Group to manage global operations in Italy and abroad. We will be able to use the combined skills of Atos Italia and Lutech, and our complementarity will allow us to better serve companies in their digital transformation journeys.”

The transaction is subject to the consultation with representative bodies and other regulatory approvals, with closing expected in H1 2023.

About Lutech Group

Lutech Group, Italian leader and European player in ICT services and solutions, supports the evolution of its clients by designing, implementing and managing end-to-end digital solutions, with a view towards continuous improvement which involves people and processes, technology and knowledge.

Evolution and transformation require a new way of interacting and connecting people, data and technologies. Lutech Group places at the foundation of the Digital Evolution five technological core entities designed to provide a complete and integrated offering, able to meet the manifold needs of digitization: LutechSolutions, LutechDigital, LutechCybersecurity, LutechServices and LutechCloud.

About Apax

Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $60 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech, Services, Healthcare, and Internet/Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies.

October 4, 2022

Wemanity Group, leader in Digital Transformation in France and Benelux, have joined Reply Group’s network of companies. PCB Partners acted as the exclusive buy-side advisor for Reply.

Founded in 2013 in Paris, and having expanded its activities to Lille, Brussels, Antwerp, The Hague, Luxembourg, and Casablanca, Wemanity’s purpose is to reinvent the future of work thanks to Agile, innovation, and cooperation.

The investment in Wemanity is part of Reply’s international growth strategy. With Wemanity, Reply acquires new skills and a critical size in France.

Read it here: https://www.reply.com/en/#/en/content/reply-accelerates-its-growth-in-france-and-expands-with-wemanity

www.pcbpartners.co.uk

September 20, 2022

PCB Partners advises Wavestone on the acquisition of Coeus Consulting to join forces with PEN Partnership with the ambition of becoming a leading consultancy in the UK

Regarding PCB Partners’ role in the transaction, Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director for Wavestone said: “We have been working with PCB Partners to accelerate our development in the UK. They brought a deep knowledge of the consulting market in the UK, which helped us to accelerate the screening and initiate meaningful conversations with relevant targets. And they added continuously value during the execution of the deal, securing the process until the closing. I look forward working with the team on new opportunities.”

The Transaction

PCB Partners acted as the exclusive buy-side corporate finance advisor to Wavestone, working hand in glove with the strategy and M&A team to win an auction process, providing intimate sector insight, market intelligence and counsel end to end.

The merger of the three teams immediately and significantly widens the playing field of Wavestone in the UK and creates new development opportunities.

The addition of Coeus Consulting’s leading IT expertise to Wavestone’s will allow the firm to provide its clients with a genuine unbiased world-class value proposition. The presence of Coeus Consulting in the Energy, Utilities, Manufacturing and Retail sectors, combined with PEN Partnership’s deep expertise in the Financial Services and Life Science sectors and Wavestone’s historic Financial Services footprint creates a solid foundation to partner with blue-chip companies on their major transformation challenges.

Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director of Wavestone, concludes “We were impressed by Coeus Consulting’s ability to engage with very large enterprises at a very senior level. That says a lot about the expertise and value of the team. This project is a game changer and creates the conditions for a step change of dimension in the UK and accelerates our globalisation.”

Coeus Consulting

Founded in 2013, Coeus Consulting is an independent, award-winning IT advisory firm, that empowers technology, business and procurement leaders to deliver more. Coeus Consulting serves leading Global 500 companies and organisations from the private and public sectors across the UK and Europe in industries including Manufacturing and Construction, Energy & Utilities, and Retail & Consumer Products. Its value proposition is built on four main service offerings: IT Strategy, IT Sourcing, Change and Architecture.

Coeus Consulting is headquartered in London, with a headcount of circa 45 permanent employees. Coeus Consulting relies on a small number of trusted subcontractors when additional capacity is needed to deliver projects.

Since inception, Coeus Consulting has successfully grown, with revenue targets projected to reach circa £9m for the current fiscal year ending in September 2022, with a profitability significantly higher than Wavestone’s.

Ben Barry, James Cockroft and Rob Walker, Directors and co-founders of Coeus Consulting, comment: “Wavestone and Coeus Consulting’s combination perfectly addresses the CIO agenda. We both have a complementary value proposition and client portfolio, as well as close corporate values. In addition, the business consulting expertise of PEN Partnership in the Financial Services and Life Science industries creates an exciting opportunity for us to address the transformation challenges of our clients in these sectors with a holistic value proposition. We were amazed by the strong cultural fit and we believe that the project will provide our teams with numerous opportunities.”

Our Perspective

The Wavestone acquisition is the latest in a string of transactions handled by PCB Partners this year and sees the boutique advisory firm continue to establish its reputation amongst major corporates and private equity investors as one of the leading players in the space, providing buy-side and sell-side services, with a focus on disruptive technologies, digital transformation, management consulting and creative marketing services businesses across the globe.

Brett Newland, Managing Partner at PCB Partners said: “It was a pleasure working with both the Wavestone and Coeus teams on our second acquisition with Wavestone in quick succession. The agility and spirit in Wavestone’s approach to inorganic growth, is a reflection of their continued and serious intentions across the globe. We are looking forward to working with Wavestone as they continue their expansion plans to reach a target revenue of €750M by 2025.”

www.pcbpartners.co.uk

September 2, 2022

PCB Partners advises Wavestone on the acquisition of PEN Partnership

Regarding PCB Partners’ role in the transaction, Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director for Wavestone said: “We have been working with PCB Partners to accelerate our development in the UK. They brought a deep knowledge of the consulting market in the UK, which helped us to accelerate the screening and initiate meaningful conversations with relevant targets. And they added continuously value during the execution of the deal, securing the process until the closing. I look forward working with the team on new opportunities.”

The Transaction

The project fits perfectly with Wavestone’s strategic plan ‘Impact’: to accelerate the firm’s external growth in its target geographies.

The acquisition is a great opportunity to enrich Wavestone’s value proposition in the UK. The addition of PEN Partnership’s expertise in Financial Services and Life Sciences to Wavestone’s technological capabilities will offer a first-class proposition to clients to help tackle their transformation challenges, across the two industries and the wider UK market.

Reza Maghsoudnia, Strategic Development Director of Wavestone, added “This merger enhances Wavestone’s ability to deliver global transformation programmes. With PEN Partnership, we can accelerate our growth in the UK and deepen our value proposition in Financial Services and Life Sciences globally. It’s clear from our discussions with PEN Partnership that there are synergies not only in the services provided, but the company culture. There is strong alignment on topics such as CSR, Diversity & Inclusion, as well as Great Place to Work, and this is a key success factor for our project.”

PEN Partnership

Founded in 2012, PEN Partnership has established itself as a trusted partner for its clients operating across the Financial Services and Life Sciences sectors. PEN Partnership serves some of the most reputable organisations within these industries across four core specialisms: Customer Experience & Digital, Operations & Automation, Data & Technology and Change Delivery & Capability. PEN Partnership is headquartered in London, with a headcount of circa 60 permanent employees and an additional circa 40 contractors

“Wavestone and PEN Partnership together make a powerful combination and this is really great news for our clients and staff” said Chris Gibson, PEN Partnership’s CEO. “The two companies provide complementary services and share very similar corporate culture and values. Wavestone has an ambitious growth plan and I am very excited for the PEN team to play a key role in building a leading consultancy player in the UK market.”

Our Perspective

Brett Newland, Managing Partner at PCB Partners said: “It was a pleasure working with both the Wavestone and PEN team. The agility and spirit in Wavestone’s approach to inorganic growth, is a reflection of their continued and serious intentions across the globe. We are looking forward to working with Wavestone as they continue their expansion plans to reach a target revenue of €750M by 2025.”

May 27, 2022

PCB Partners advises on the transaction between Avanade and leading digital transformation consultancy Kabel.

Avanade, the leading Microsoft solutions provider and an Accenture and Microsoft joint venture, today announced it has acquired Kabel, a leading Spanish digital transformation solution provider and key Microsoft partner. Kabel’s capabilities in multi-cloud, artificial intelligence, data and application development will further bolster Avanade’s already strong position in Spain and wider Europe. This is Avanade’s fifth European acquisition in three years.

The acquisition will strengthen Avanade’s business, expertise and capabilities across the entire spectrum of digital technologies, with a particular emphasis on data and AI, cloud infrastructure and management, software development and applications. With the addition of Kabel’s almost 300 professionals, the combined team will offer the Spanish market broad and deep expertise in customized, end-to-end business transformative solutions in all industry segments.

“Kabel has garnered a solid reputation as being a bold, agile partner that can design innovative, highly complex solutions that drive business transformation,” said Silvia Vidal, Avanade Iberia General Manager. “Its close relationship with clients, employees, Microsoft and other partners, is one Avanade deeply respects. We value their skills and experience, which will extend our ability to make a genuine human impact for our Spanish clients and their customers.”

“Kabel has experienced strong growth in recent years due to the rapid increase in demand for transformative solutions, achieving a market leadership position in this type of solutions, as well as recognition as a Gold Microsoft partner with fourteen Gold competencies and five advanced specializations,” commented José Ramón Barriocanal, Kabel CEO.

“In order to continue growing in a sustained and sustainable way, it is necessary to have the best travel companions. Avanade shares our values and its relationship with Accenture will allow us to take on even more complex projects and offer our clients a broader range of technologies and solutions, while continuing our commitment to helping our clients improve society through technology,” added Alfredo Rivela, Founder and President of Kabel.

PCB Partners advises Bip Group on the acquisition of Riskcare to strengthen the Group’s US and UK fintech footprint.

PCB Partners, global M&A advisory firm with a focus on serving digital and consulting businesses, is pleased to announce that it has advised Bip Group on the acquisition of leading technology and financial modelling consultancy Riskcare.

Chris Laslett, CEO of Chaucer financial services strategy and consulting practice said: “We are delighted to welcome Riskcare to the Group. Riskcare is known for its high quality and sometimes robust approach in financial services as well as its commitment to its customers and people. Connected through a common vision, strategy, and culture our people, ecosystem and credentials will combine to accelerate our growth in this market extending our reach to bring world-class trading and risk technology services to our clients worldwide.”

Riskcare, founded in 1994, provides innovative trading and risk professional services to capital markets clients – on the buy and sell sides in addition to commodities, insurance, and retail banking. With a focus on business innovation and regulatory change projects, Riskcare draws on its extensive experience across the disciplines of combined financial, software and business process engineering, particularly cloud engineering, model development and management, AI / ML / algorithmic modelling to drive improvements in the capital markets.

Brett Newland, Managing Partner at PCB Partners said: “It was a pleasure working with both the Bip Group and Riskcare team. The disruption of the financial services industry is accelerating creating increasing demands on service providers to help clients navigate the transformation. We see Bip as being a leading partner for this bolstered by the Riskcare team.”

Headquartered in Milan, Bip is one of the fastest-growing European consulting firms providing digital transformation, technology, and strategy solutions to the many of the world’s largest organisations across energy, life sciences, telecoms, financial services, and insurance. Bip, including Chaucer and Riskcare, today employs over 4,000 people worldwide generating over €400 million in revenue annually.

PCB Partners advises Reply on the acquisition of Graymatter and Forcology.

October 28, 2021

Reply S.p.A. has acquired 100% of the share capital in Comwrap GmbH, a European leader in professional services for cloud native digital platforms based on Adobe Experience Cloud and Ibexa DXP. With deep expertise in digital experience, Comwrap’s c. 85 employees will become part of Reply’s network of technology platform.

PCB started the mandate in March and completed the transaction in October. Commenting on the transaction, Riccardo Lodigiani, Head of M&A Reply said:

“Our partnership with PCB continues with them finding us high quality off-market, under-the-radar assets in the Technology Consulting and Digital Services ecosystems. Delivering to the brief quickly and sensitively, the differentiated PCB approach and deep industry experience was the key factor in closing out the deal, and we look forward to continuing this important partnership to help Reply’s inorganic expansion in the year ahead.”

About Reply

Reply specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. As a network of highly specialised companies, Reply defines and develops business models enabled by the new models of AI, big data, cloud computing, digital media and the internet of things. Reply delivers consulting, system integration and digital services to organisations across the telecom and media; industry and services; banking and insurance; and public sectors. www.reply.com

About Comwrap

Comwrap specialises in launching cloud-native digital experience and e-commerce platforms based on Adobe Experience Cloud as well as Ibexa DXP. Comwrap Reply differentiates itself from Internet agencies and IT consultancies through a “cloud-native strategy”. Standards-based integration in the cloud leads to short project lead times and lower overall project costs. Comwrap Reply’s services include consulting, experience design, and system integration. www.comwrap.com