Visma is selling its consulting business for eight billion: – Has been intense

– There is no doubt that the IT consulting business we now sell is top class. It has delivered very well year after year, says Visma boss Merete Hverven.

Hverven sailed in as top manager in the spring of 2020 after several years of service as HR director in the company. Under her leadership, Visma has acquired companies on a large scale.

But now there is also a sale. A really big one.

It is the huge acquisition fund CVC Capital Partners that is now putting several billion kroner on the table for Visma’s consulting business and their 2,000 employees.

– If this was so incredibly good, was there simply a price you could not say no to?

– We do not comment on the transaction price, but we would not have sold if we did not think it was the right price, says Hverven.

She will not say anything about the price, but sources with knowledge of the transaction inform DN that it is around 800 million euros, equivalent to around eight billion kroner.

Announces several acquisitions

Several acquisition funds are said to have sniffed at Visma’s consulting business in recent months, but CVC pulled the longest straw. When asked if the negotiations have been a dance on roses or intense, the top manager does not need a pause for thought.

– I think we have had a good, solid and professional process. But it’s a big deal, so of course it’s been intense.

The position is well versed in the transaction market. She herself is involved in most of Visma’s acquisitions, and so far this year, 30 companies have been incorporated into the Norwegian technology giant. With fresh money after the sale, even more acquisitions are common, according to the top manager.

Something else can also linger somewhere on the horizon, namely a stock exchange listing. Hverven has previously said that the company is considering a stock exchange listing during 2023. However, she will not equate the sale with preparation for a potential listing.

– My job as CEO is to do what is right for the group at all times, she says.

– The timing is important

According to Hverven, they are constantly working to equip themselves for a potential stock exchange listing. When in 2023 it may come, it is impossible to comment, she says.

– If you look at the market situation now, which is not very good and stable, it is very difficult to predict what will happen next year. I do not think it is right for Visma to go public in a situation where there are very uncertain and unstable times.

– In the long term, we will go public, but the timing is important, says the top manager, who says they would not list in the market as it is today.

– Why is it so important to go public?

– It has to do with size. Since the pandemic alone, we have acquired more than 100 companies. Since we were delisted in 2006, we have grown by an average of almost 20 percent on the top line every single year. So we are starting to get big, but the growth ambitions are as high as before, and there is no doubt that as a listed company you have many advantages from having a more liquid share. That said, we are also very pleased with the current ownership situation, and the support we receive from our shareholders, says Hverven.

If you find the pandemic timeline and count 100 acquisitions since Norway first closed down on 12 March 2020 and until today, it amounts to an average of almost one acquisition every eight days.

Is in dialogue

Since Visma was delisted over 15 years ago, it has been owned by several acquisition funds. In September last year, John Fredriksen, Folketrygdfondet and Harald Høegh joined the ownership side when they bought a total of 1.6 per cent of the software company.

Visma was then priced at around NOK 140 billion excluding debt, after an insane price increase in just over a year. Of listed companies, only Equinor, DNB, Telenor and Aker BP are priced higher today.

Hverven will not comment on how she thinks pricing has developed since the Norwegian trio entered the ownership side, but says the company is growing further and delivering healthy development on the bottom line.

– If you have a long perspective and every single year delivers top-line and bottom-line growth of around 20 percent, then I also think it provides a good value development over time, she says.

– Has it knocked more investors on the door?

– Having investor meetings is part of my job. We have a regular dialogue with interesting investors who can be good long-term owners for Visma.

– So yes?

– Yes, we are in dialogue with investors.

– Who wants to enter the owner side?

– Who is interested in Visma, yes.

– Something imminent?

– I can not comment on that, says Hverven.

Turnover for six billion.

Visma had sales of 579 million euros in the first quarter, corresponding to six billion kroner at today’s krone exchange rate. This is an increase of 17.8 per cent from the same period last year.

The company was left with a profit from operations of 59 million euros, corresponding to around 600 million kroner.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases using a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content may only take place with written permission or as permitted by law. For further terms see here.