Infinigate plots geographic expansion following equity boost
Private equity house H.I.G. grabs 'significant' stake in distributor
Investment house H.I.G. Europe has acquired a big stake in acquisitive security distributor Infinigate.
The investor is a subsidiary of US-headquartered H.I.G. Capital, a private equity player that manages more than €20bn of capital investments worldwide. Precise terms of its investment in the Swiss distributor have not been disclosed, but the two parties claimed the agreement would see H.I.G "acquire a significant shareholding in Infinigate". Investment banking firm GP Bullhound advised on the deal.
The channel firm has grown significantly in recent years, having expanded from an €11m VAD in 2005 to a regional heavyweight that posted revenue of €296m in its 2016 fiscal year. Infinigate has made various acquisitions across Europe, and has hinted that it may begin to look beyond this continent for further M&A. It has also expanded organically into a number of countries.
Its new investor intends to back CEO David Martinez (pictured above)and his management team as Infinigate "strives to maintain its steep growth trajectory by expanding its presence in new and existing geographical markets", today's press release states. In addition to financial backing, H.I.G. claims it brings "experience in implementing successful buy-and-build strategies", as well as specialised knowledge of the technology sector and an "extensive network" of industry contacts.
"Infinigate has demonstrated impressive performance over the past two decades," said H.I.G. managing director Holger Kleingarn. "The European IT security solutions market has enormous growth potential. H.I.G. will support Infinigate in continuing to share in that growth and pushing ahead with its geographical expansion through organic growth as well as acquisitions. H.I.G. is very much looking forward to the partnership and cooperation with Mr Martinez and his team."
Martinez will stay in place as boss of the distributor, as will the rest of the senior management team. All its current line-up of major shareholders will also "remain involved in the company".
"On the basis of our strong historical track record, we have decided to accelerate our European expansion strategy over the coming years backed by an investor that supports our strategy as well as our independency in the market," said the CEO. "Infinigate will benefit not only from H.I.G.'s financial resources, but also from its substantial experience in the technology sector, in the development of new markets and, most importantly, in new acquisitions."
Based in the village of Rotkreuz, about 15km north east of Lucerne, Infinigate was founded 21 years ago and claims that it was "the first distributor of internet technology solutions in Europe". In 2002 the company decided to dedicate itself to the security market, and its vendor partners include the likes of Malwarebytes, BeyondTrust, Cylance, Radware, and Tripwire. In addition to its home country the firm has operations in eight other nations across western and northern Europe, including Germany, Austria, the UK, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, where it set up shop last month.