MidEuropa-Backed Symfonia Welcomes Accel-KKR Investment
MidEuropa, a leading investor in Central Europe, is pleased to announce the sale of a majority stake in Symfonia to Accel-KKR, a leading global technology investment firm focused on software and tech-enabled companies. Upon completion of the transaction, MidEuropa will retain a significant minority stake in the business, reflecting the firm’s strong conviction in Symfonia’s value proposition and in the resilient growth dynamics of the B2B software sector.
MidEuropa acquired Symfonia in March 2021 in a carve-out from Sage Group plc, and supported management in delivering a fast and successful separation of the company from its corporate owner. In the past two years, Symfonia has leveraged MidEuropa’s network and sector expertise to undertake an operational and digital transformation, which has allowed it to enhance its cloud and SaaS (Software as a Service) capabilities and to upgrade its organic growth profile. This led to a full transition from a corporate subsidiary to an independent premium software business with a resilient recurring revenue model. In addition, with MidEuropa’s support, the company completed three strategic add-on acquisitions: HRTec, Reset2 and Cloud Planet, which have enabled it to acquire new technology, consolidate existing market segments and also expand into new ones.
Kerim Turkmen, Partner at MidEuropa, commented:
“Symfonia is another example of MidEuropa’s growing and successful involvement in the broadly defined B2B technology and services segment. We believe that the abundance of IT talent and ongoing digitalisation in Central European markets makes the region the right place to create Pan-European tech-enabled champions. We look forward to continuing our support of Symfonia’s talented management team in this next phase of our ownership and have no doubt that with our partnership with Accel-KKR, the company is well positioned to continue on its impressive growth trajectory.”
Marek Rodak, Principal at MidEuropa, added:
“Since our acquisition of Symfonia two years ago, the company has more than doubled in size and continues to perform strongly, with an exciting pipeline of further growth opportunities. We plan to continue to support Symfonia’s proven strategy, with Accel-KKR bringing their global experience of investing successfully in mid-market software and technology-enabled companies.”
Piotr Ciski, Chief Executive Officer of Symfonia, said:
“We’re extremely pleased with what we have achieved with MidEuropa’s backing over a relatively short time horizon and would like to thank them for their continued support. We are delighted to be working with both MidEuropa and Accel-KKR as we continue our focus on being the leading innovator in IT solutions for accounting and payroll for SMEs in the region.”
Marek Rodak, Maciej Michalak and Adam Golos led the execution of the deal from MidEuropa’s side. Advisors to MidEuropa included: Rothschild (financial adviser), White & Case (legal counsel), and PwC (transaction services).
The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals.