LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces it is acting as lead sell-side advisor to A2MAC1, a portfolio company of Five Arrows Principal Investments (Five Arrows) and Keensight Capital, on its pending sale to Providence Equity Partners (Providence). As part of the transaction, Five Arrows will re-invest as joint-lead alongside Providence. A2MAC1 is the global leader in automotive technology benchmarking. The transaction is being led by the Harris Williams Technology Group, including Thierry Monjauze, Julien Oussadon, Sylvain Noblet, Stefan van de Ven and Daniel Drazen.
“A2MAC1 is a global leader in automotive benchmarking insights and has successfully expanded its unique offering from static technology benchmarking into other mission-critical insights, such as costing and performance insights,” said Thierry Monjauze, a managing director at Harris Williams. “It has been a privilege advising A2MAC1 and its shareholders on this transaction and extending the firm’s strong momentum advising French technology clients.”
“With a uniquely differentiated offering, combined with a global market-leading position, A2MAC1 has an exciting path ahead for its next stage of growth. We are highly impressed with what A2MAC1 CEO Frank Bunte and his team have built. We look forward to watching the company embark on its next chapter as the platform continues to expand further across benchmarking insights,” added Julien Oussadon, a managing director at Harris Williams.
Nicolas Robin, a managing director at Five Arrows, said, “Harris Williams is a first-class partner. They have been pivotal in successfully positioning the company and future opportunity, and their meticulous attention to detail, process design, and tactical advice throughout the transaction led to an exceptional outcome.”
Frank Bunte, CEO of A2MAC1, added, “The transaction expertise and insightful buyer knowledge provided by Harris Williams has been integral to our successful outcome. I am incredibly excited about the future of A2MAC1 as we partner with Five Arrows and Providence, and as we continue to uncover hidden secrets behind the most complex innovations and technologies which will transform data into meaningful insights.”
A2MAC1 is the world-leading provider of benchmarking insights and solutions across the automotive and mobility industry and beyond. It is a pioneer in the analysis and transformation of data into actionable value and a source of mission-critical insights into the market. With more than 700 employees worldwide (Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States), the group’s offering is used daily by more than 650,000 professionals from the entire automotive and mobility value chain and beyond for over 25 years. Its unique, easy-to-use, 3D proprietary technology platform helps manufacturers optimize the design and materials of their products throughout their life cycle with a constant focus on decarbonization and innovation whilst enabling constant cost and value optimization.
Five Arrows is the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co and has €22 billion of AuM with offices in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Luxembourg. With over €8 billion of assets under management, the corporate private equity business of Five Arrows is focused on investing in companies with highly defensible market positions; strong management teams; business models with high visibility of organic unit volume growth and strong unit economics; and multiple operational levers that can be used to unlock latent value. Sectors are limited to data and software, technology-enabled business services and healthcare.
Keensight Capital, one of the leading European growth buyout firms, is committed to supporting entrepreneurs as they implement their growth strategies. For over 20 years, Keensight Capital’s team of seasoned professionals has leveraged their knowledge of investment and growth industries to invest for the long term in profitable companies with high growth potential and revenues in the range of €10 million to €400 million. Drawing on its expertise in the technology and healthcare sectors, Keensight Capital identifies the best investment opportunities in Europe and works closely with management teams to develop and achieve their strategic vision. Keensight Capital’s success has also earned it a Gold Award from the Private Equity Exchange & Awards each year for the last five consecutive years, and in particular, the Best European Growth Private Equity Fund.
Providence is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on growth-oriented media, communications, education, and technology companies across North America and Europe. Providence combines its partnership approach to investing with deep industry expertise to help management teams build exceptional businesses and generate attractive returns. Since its founding in 1989, Providence has invested over $32 billion across more than 170 private equity portfolio companies. With its headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island, the firm also has offices in New York, London, Boston, and Atlanta.
Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).
The Harris Williams Technology Group advises leading private and public companies, founders, and private equity, growth equity and venture capital firms on mergers and acquisitions and capital-raising transactions worldwide. The Technology Group has deep domain expertise in software and technology-enabled services and dedicated focus areas across a variety of vertical software applications and end markets. For more information on the Technology Group and its recent transactions, visit the Technology Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.
Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: hwgermany@harriswilliams.com). Geschäftsführer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. DE321666994). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business.
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