Advised Bregal Unternehmerkapital on the sale of its portfolio company proALPHA Business Solutions GmbH, a leading provider of enterprise resource planning software, to ICG 
– proALPHA is a leading provider of ERP software solutions for mid-sized manufacturing and wholesale companies in the DACH region and the #3 provider in its core market (after SAP and Microsoft)
– With more than 900 employees worldwide, the company serves approximately 1,800 small and mid-sized customers (SMEs) driving digital transformation of business processes and laying the foundation for Industry 4.0 strategies
– Through acquisitions and increasing internationalisation, proALPHA has consistently outgrown the market, with revenues topping €100 million in fiscal year 2016
– ICG is a London-based specialist asset manager, founded in 1989, investing across the whole capital structure
– ICG is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has offices around the globe
– The group offers various financing solutions such as equity investments, financing with outside capital and mezzanine financing
– The addition of ICG as an investor strengthens proALPHA’s shareholder structure and provides additional financial resources to further promote its growth and accelerate digitalisation in the SME sector
– Bregal’s minority rollover alongside ICG’s investment in proALPHA enables the company to leverage the combined access to a broad network of entrepreneurs and industry experts in a new disruptive way
– The company aims to accelerate its internationalisation and to increase its market share in existing geographies, particularly in China where proALPHA recently opened its first subsidiary
– Bregal engaged Arma Partners after it had been approached by a potential buyer with a pre-emptive offer
– Arma Partners helped the company manage the inbound interest, while driving competitive tension by contacting the most qualified potential buyers that could move swiftly
– The process involved analysis of strategic positioning, preparation of marketing materials, support of the diligence efforts and negotiation of the key transaction terms, all of which was achieved within an accelerated timeframe resulting in a highly successful outcome for Bregal
– Arma Partners ran a process focused on generating competitive tension, maintaining confidentiality and maximising value in a short period of time