‘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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https://news.cision.com/rossen—company/r/ageras-raises-eur-82-million-for-new-acquisitions—the-ones-we-eye-reinforce-our-vision-and-goal-10,c3970297
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