Our History

“Arma virumque cano”
(I sing of arms and of a man)
- Virgil, Aeneid (Book I, line 1)

Arma Partners was founded in London in March 2003 as an independent advisory firm focusing on the Technology sector. Following the collapse of the Technology stock market “bubble”, which led to the disappearance of specialist Technology advisory boutiques and the withdrawal from the sector of so-called “bulge bracket” investment banks, Arma was set up to provide high quality independent advice, based on deep domain expertise and world-class execution skills, to Technology companies worldwide.

In November 2003, the firm announced its first transaction, the sale of SuSe Linux to Novell for $210m, a high-value exit in a dismal market, which won a “Deal of the Year” award. This transaction was followed by other high-value disposals of, primarily, Venture Capital and Private Equity-backed companies, earning Arma a reputation for effectively articulating the value proposition of Technology firms so as to achieve strategic exits.

In the three years that followed, Arma continued to execute successful Technology M&A transactions and to add high quality bankers to its London team, while strengthening its Silicon Valley presence through the opening of offices in Palo Alto, CA.

In April 2007, Arma advised Germany’s Software AG on its $546m acquisition of webMethods, a high profile buy-side assignment which signalled the firm’s ambition to expand beyond sell-side assignments, without however neglecting its by then leading franchise in high-value Technology trade sales. In April 2008, Arma advised freenet AG on its $2,550m acquisition of debitel Group, another landscape-changing buy-side assignment and the firm’s first sizeable deal in the Telecoms sector.

Despite difficult economic conditions and a crisis in the banking sector, Arma posted its best results ever for the financial year to March 2009, capping six years of uninterrupted top-line growth and profitability. Now a clear leader in European Technology M&A and a growing force in north America, the firm decided to broaden the scope of its activities from Technology to “TMT” (Technology, Media & Telecoms) corporate advisory.

The arrival in early 2009 of several leading Media and Telecoms senior bankers gave Arma arguably the strongest senior TMT advisory line-up in Europe. During the same period the firm reaffirmed its commitment to its Technology franchise by acting as exclusive adviser on several high-profile deals, including the acquisitions of Borland Software (a successfully contested bid battle) and Compuware’s ASQ business by Micro Focus, as well as the $680m acquisition of IDS Scheer by Software AG.

To be continued...

“Possunt quia posse videntur”
(They can, because they think they can)
- Virgil, Aeneid (Book V, line 231)