'The ones we eye reinforce our vision and goal
100%; to become market leader and then go public'
Danish-founded Ageras beats all expectations by raising
EUR 82 million for new acquisitions
in an oversubscribed private placement round. The round has seen
participation by i.a. the Norwegian state pension fund
Folketrygdfondet, American asset manager Lazard as well as
Investcorp as lead on top of a 2023 in which the Danish fintech
comet has become profitable.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 24, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Danish fintech Ageras, which provides accounting
software to over 300,000 active European small businesses, has
completed its sixth and largest investment round to date according
to documents just filed with the Danish Business Authority. The
round is a private placement totaling EUR 82
million and is oversubscribed with overwhelming commitments
from both new and existing investors; to increase Ageras'
acquisition opportunities in an attractive European market. Amongst
others, Investcorp, together with the two founders and other
existing investors, has accounted for approximately 50% of the
round in addition to new names such as the Norwegian state pension
fund Folketrygdfondet and the American asset manager Lazard,
says Ageras' CEO, Rico Andersen, who
confirms that negotiations are already underway with several
potential acquisition targets:
"We want to make it easier to be a small business in an
increasingly difficult administrative and regulatory landscape by
offering a fully integrated platform where companies can manage
their banking, accounting and tax in one financial cockpit,"
says Rico Andersen.
"To deliver faster on that vision, M&A is an integral
part of our strategy, where we have acquired technology and thus
expanded our product faster than if we built everything from
scratch. Currently, we see an attractive pipeline of potential
acquisitions emerging, and the ones we eye reinforce our vision and
goal 100%; to become market leader and then go public. Therefore,
we have assembled a dream team of investors and are filling up the
'war chest' right now," continues Rico
Andersen, who reports that Ageras achieved positive EBITDA
for the first time in 2023, ending the fiscal year with a
record-high ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue, edt.) of EUR 41 million compared to EUR 27 million in 2022.
Has raised almost EUR 200
million
Ageras was founded in 2012 by then 19-year-old Rico Andersen and 20-year-old Martin Hegelund as Ageras.com, an online
marketplace matching small businesses with accountants and
bookkeepers, however, has today grown into a fintech company with
approximately 250 employees and a comprehensive cloud-based
software product.
With the latest record-breaking investment round, Ageras has
raised a total of almost EUR 200
million, and despite the company announcing towards the end
of 2023 that it did not need to raise further funds, market
conditions have made it favorable for the Danish fintech to
continue its acquisition hunt; to offer even more features to the
growing customer base in its four core markets i.e. Denmark, Germany, France and the
Netherlands. Specifically, the ambition is to increase ARR
to EUR 100 million after which an IPO
can potentially be considered - and amongst the new investors there
is full confidence that both can be achieved within a few
years:
"We remain impressed with the growth and strategic
development of Ageras since our first investment in 2017.
Therefore, we are excited to lead this investment round which
enables more accretive M&A to expand the product offering and
gain market share," says Gilbert Kamieniecky, Head of Private
Equity Europe at Investcorp.
About Ageras
Ageras was founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneurs Rico Andersen and Martin Hegelund, who
together have over 25 years of experience building internet
businesses. Ageras' vision is to create success for small
businesses by simplifying their administration. By integrating its
solutions into a single cockpit for invoicing, accounting, payroll,
banking and finance, it enables business owners to focus on running
their business. Ageras started as the online marketplace
Ageras.com, matching SMEs with accountants, and has grown into a
company with approximately 250 employees offering a complete
ecosystem of tools and services for SMEs. The company's investors
include Investcorp, Rabo Frontier Ventures (Rabobank) and Lugard
Road Capital (Luxor Capital), and now also
Folketrygdfondet and Investering & Tryghed. For more
information, please visit www.ageras.com.
The following parties have participated in the transaction:
Existing investors: Investcorp, Roosgruppen, Back in Black and
the founders Rico Andersen Invest and Hegelund Equities
New investors: Folketrygdfondet, Lazard and Investering
& Tryghed
Timeline - How Ageras has evolved over the past 12
years:
2012: Ageras is founded by Rico
Andersen and Martin
Hegelund.
2016: Ageras is named Børsen Gazelle as one of Denmark's fastest growing companies and wins
the EY award for Entrepreneur of the Year.
2017: Investcorp acquires the majority of Ageras which also
wins the Danish e-commerce award for Best B2B Company.
2019: Ageras acquires accounting software Billy.
2020: Rabobank makes a strategic investment in Ageras, achieving
EUR 10 million in ARR the same
year.
2021: Lugard Road Capital injects DKK 450
million into Ageras which later acquires the invoicing
system Zervant and the payroll system Salary.
2022: Canadian CIBC invests EUR 35
million in Ageras which later acquires German neo-bank
Kontist.
2023: Ageras becomes profitable for the first time in July
2023.
2024: Ageras receives EUR 82 million
in investment from its founders, Investcorp, Folketrygdfondet,
Lazard, Roosgruppen, Back in Black and Investering &
Tryghed.
For further information, please contact nic@rossen.com or
telephone +45 20729972.
- Ageras A/S, 30/4724
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Martin Hegelund left og
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Rico Andersen
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