Hg agrees to sell STP to Bregal Unternehmerkapital

RNS Number : 8488D

HgCapital Trust PLC

02 November 2020

 

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("HGT"), today announces that it has agreed the sale of STP, a leading DACH-based provider of legal tech solutions, to Bregal Unternehmerkapital. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust approvals and closing is expected later this year.

HGT, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all Hg's investments.

This transaction values HGT's investment in STP at approximately £15.1 million. This would represent an uplift of £5.6 million (60% or 1.4 pence per share) over the carrying value of £9.5 million in the Net Asset Value ("NAV") of HGT at 31 August 2020.

Note that these figures only relate to HgCapital Trust's share of Hg's overall investment in STP.

Based on the 31 August 2020 reported NAV, the pro-forma NAV of the Trust is expected to be £1.16 billion (or 284 pence per share). HGT's liquid resources available for future deployment (including all announced transactions and the interim dividend paid in October 2020) are estimated to be £133 million (11% of the pro-forma 31 August 2020 NAV). In addition, HGT has access to an £200 million standby facility, which is currently undrawn.

Hg agrees the sale of STP to Bregal Unternehmerkapital

Together Hg and management have strengthened STP's position as a leading legal tech provider, empowering the digitisation of insolvency and legal practitioners

Karlsruhe, Germany and London, United Kingdom - 2^nd November 2020: Hg, Europe's leading software investor, today announces that it has agreed the sale of STP, a leading DACH-based provider of legal tech solutions, to Bregal Unternehmerkapital, part of a multi-generational family-owned business that specialises in majority and minority holdings in the DACH region. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust approvals and closing is expected later this year.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, STP is a leading one-stop shop solution provider, empowering the digitisation of insolvency and legal practitioners. It provides a fully integrated legal tech platform comprising workflow automation, ERP software, specialist technical outsourcing and data businesses. STP's solutions are deeply embedded in the insolvency ecosystem and commercial law segment, with a dedicated full-suite offering. The business employs around 200 people, serving over 1,800 customers with critical software and services for their daily workflow.

Hg first invested in STP in 2016, together with founder Gunther Thies, having done significant work across the legal technology sector. Hg recognised the business as a strong and unique platform, selling mission-critical software and services to a high number of loyal customers in the legal space. Since then Hg has worked with the STP team and helped strengthen the business' position in legal tech in DACH.

Uwe Richter, CEO at STP, said: "STP has significantly benefited from Hg's support over the last four years, leveraging the knowledge they have in the software and legal tech space, whilst also benefitting from valuable best-practice sharing that is promoted across Hg's network and over 30 tech portfolio businesses. We are very excited about our new partnership with Bregal Unternehmerkapital and together plan an acceleration of new product and service introductions to help our customers drive efficiency at the workplace."

Gunther Thies, Founder of STP, said: "Today STP is in a great position, owed to the hard work of our team, our brilliant employees and strategic partners. Together with Hg we have significantly professionalised the business, overseen a number of accretive acquisitions and driven strategic growth across the business. I remain fully committed to the business and look forward to investing further into our product suite and unparalleled customer experience together with our chosen partner Bregal Unternehmerkapital."

Florian Schick, Managing Partner at Bregal Unternehmerkapital, said: "Bregal is excited about its partnership with STP as another example of our strategy to provide entrepreneurial expertise as well as access to our network of industry experts to help management teams achieve their long term, sustainable growth goals. We look forward to work together with the whole team at STP, including the founder Gunther Thies, as well as our valuable customers among insolvency administrators and law firm professionals to bring new, exciting products to market."

Stefan Margolis, Partner at Hg, said: "We are happy to have been able to support STP on its growth journey and help strengthen its position as go-to legal tech provider, with decades of expertise and best-in-class software and solutions. It has been a real privilege to work with Gunther, Uwe, Frank, Harald and the team. We are delighted to leave the business in such capable hands for future growth."

For further details:

Hg

Laura Dixon  [phone]

Brunswick

Samantha Chiene                                                                                                               [phone]

[e-mail]

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L), gives investors exposure through a liquid vehicle to a portfolio of high-growth private companies in the software and services sector. The selection of new investments and creation of value in these businesses are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com.

The contents of the Hg, HgCapital Trust, STP and Bregal's websites are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

 

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