Good morning, Nina Lindholm here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.
As the market tries to shake off the lingering effects of the ‘SaaSpocalypse,’ it’s promising to see software assets changing hands. We start today with Hg and EQT agreeing to sell their stakes in Quantios, a SaaS provider to global trust and corporate services, to Vista Equity Partners.
We then step away from software, with the news that OpenGate Capital has agreed to acquire Merak, the rail heating, ventilation and air conditioning business of Knorr-Bremse, a publicly listed German industrial company.
Real momentum
Several sources have talked to us about the importance of identifying winners and losers in the era of AI. Some firms, such as Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners, have also approached AI by partnering with Google Cloud to boost enterprise agentic AI adoption in their portfolios.
Agentic AI is a key feature in Vista’s latest deal. The firm has agreed to acquire Quantios, a SaaS provider to global trust and corporate services, from Hg and EQT.
Hg invested in the business in 2022 – then operating as TrustQuay – and in 2023, merged it with Viewpoint, which was owned by EQT, to create Quantios.
Over the period of Hg’s ownership, the business has grown into a global platform partnering with close to 700 organizations worldwide, underpinned by its flagship products Quantios Core and Klea.
Quantios’s product-led AI strategy was “central” to the value creation under Hg’s stewardship, according to a press statement. Generative AI is now embedded natively within Quantios Core and delivered to customers as standard, while a separately priced agentic AI layer automates higher-complexity regulated workflows for clients, the statement added. The company has a suite of agents available already and a larger identified pipeline in development.
“Quantios has built a market-leading platform and real momentum in bringing agentic AI into live customer environments,” said Jake Hodgman, managing director at Vista, in a statement.
On track
Away from software, another busy sector PE Hub is keeping an eye on is HVAC. Earlier this year, Guillaume Suizdak, managing director and co-head of industrials, Europe, at Lincoln International told me that the European HVAC deal pipeline is expanding.
“Platforms are pursuing scale through geographical expansion, broader product and service coverage across the value chain, and exposure to fast-growing and/or critical end markets with strong entry barriers such as data centers or life sciences and city governments,” he told me.
The sector has a fresh deal: OpenGate Capital has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Merak, the global rail heating, ventilation and air conditioning business of Knorr-Bremse, a publicly listed German industrial company.
Headquartered in Getafe, Spain, Merak provides HVAC systems for rail vehicles, spanning original equipment, aftermarket services, spare parts, system modernization and overhaul. The company operates facilities in Spain, Austria, Australia, the US, China and India, and serves rolling stock manufacturers worldwide.
“Merak is a high-quality business with a market-leading position, differentiated technology and a global customer base built over decades,” said Joshua Adams, partner at OpenGate, in a statement. “Supported by continued investment in rail infrastructure and sustainable transportation around the world, we believe Merak is well positioned for long-term success.”
That’s all from me this morning. Michael Schoeck will be with you later today with the US edition, and I’ll be writing my usual Friday Wire tomorrow.
Cheers,
Nina