VIA equity and PFA invests in Advania

30% stake in Advania AB sold to VIA equity, a Northern European equity fund, and PFA, the largest commercial pension company in Denmark.

VIA equity, a leading Northern European multi-stage private equity fund and PFA have invested in Advania AB and joined the group of owners with a 30% share in the company.

Advania was formed in 2012 when several branches of IT companies in 3 Nordic countries merged, some of which rooted back to 1939. In 2014, Nordic Mezzanine, Swedish investors and part of the Nordic management, acquired a majority stake in Advania from previous owners and shifted focus towards both growth and increased profitability. Since then Advania has grown considerably and produced excellent financial results. In 2017 Advania increased its revenues by 60%, to SEK 2.804m, and its EBITDA grew by 59%, to SEK 258m.

The shareholders are firm believers in creating value for Advania's customers with innovative use of IT services and platforms. By staying true to that policy, and putting the customer's interest first, Advania has become a true Nordic IT service player and an industry leader. With VIA equity and PFA now on board as shareholders, Advania is stronger and better positioned to enforce its strategy, with continued organic growth and by strategic mergers and acquisitions.

The transaction is subject to approval by the Swedish Competition Commission.  

Gestur G. Gestsson, Advania’s Group CEO: 

“The employees are Advania’s greatest asset and our competitive advantage. We have been fortunate enough to attract and retain some of the best talents in the industry, who share the vision of working closely with customers to create value for them. That vision and employee commitment are fundamental to our success. We look forward to working with the new shareholders, who not only share our vision but bring an expertise and know-how to the group that will accelerate our results in the years to come. There are exciting times ahead.”

Benjamin Kramarz, Partner of VIA equity:

“The high global demand for IT services will continue to grow rapidly in coming years. The world is changing, technology is evolving faster than ever, and the need for smart and straightforward IT solutions is evident. Advania has a different approach to the IT market, looking above and beyond specific vendors and platforms to meet the customer's needs. That approach has proven successful, and that's what caught our attention. Advania has unique M&A capabilities, and the company culture fosters growth. Therefore, investing in Advania is in line with our investment strategy and Advania fits perfectly into our portfolio of assets. That's why we approached the shareholders to join forces with them, and we're happy that we succeeded.” 

Photo: Advania AB board of directors from left: Vesa Suurmunne, Katrín Olga Jóhannesdóttir, Birgitta Stymne Göransson, Thomas Ivarson and Bengt Engström.

For more information, please contact:

Gestur G. Gestsson, Advania’s Group CEO

Mobile: +46 76 140 01 55, E-mail: gestur@advania.com

Benjamin Kramarz, Partner, VIA equity

Mobile: +45 21 74 92 78, E-mail: bek@viaequity.com

About Advania

Advania is a Nordic IT corporation, operating in 22 locations in Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark. The company focuses on helping customers to improve their performance with innovative use of best available IT platforms and services. Advania serves thousands of corporate customers, multinational enterprises, governments and public institutions, big, small and medium-sized companies in all aspects of society. Advania traces its roots to 1939 when an Icelandic entrepreneur founded an office equipment repair workshop in Reykjavik. In the following decades, three separate branches of IT-companies evolved in three Nordic countries, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway. In 2012, they were braided into one and Advania was formed. For further information, please visit www.advania.com.

About VIA equity

VIA equity is a leading Northern European Multi-stage private equity firm focusing on technology and service industries. VIA equity Fond I K/S, Fond II K/S and Fond III K/S all have a confirmed capital of DKK 1 billion (i.e. DKK 3 billion in total). The investing VIA equity Fund III K/S had PFA and ATP as equal investors with a total of over 99% of the capital. The remaining capital is invested by the employees of VIA equity A/S. VIA equity is a management company for the funds. Technically, VIA equity is a Multi-stage private equity fund, meaning that the fund invests in both large, medium-sized and small companies. At the same time, VIA equity is more focused on specific industry segments than many of the capital fund colleagues in the industry. Historically, VIA equity has among others invested in software, internet, technology, energy- and service companies. Examples of current and exited software and IT-companies include among others: Adra Software AS, KMD A/S, Adform ApS, ePocket Solutions AS, DDD Retail A/S, Projectplace AB, ComActivity AB, Dolphin Software AS, Frontmatec A/S, Daldata AS, Hostnordic A/S, UVData A/S, Conscia A/S, Nets A/S, Profit Software Oy and Mansoft A/S.

About PFA

PFA was founded in 1917 as an independent company by a number of labour organisations, with the sole purpose of ensuring a financially secure future for the employees and their families. Today, PFA is the largest commercial pension company in Denmark with more than DKK 500 billion (EUR 67 billion) under management. PFA has approximately 1.2 million individual customers from a wide range of the largest companies and organisations in Denmark. PFA has made significant direct investments in recent years as part of its alternative investments portfolio across private equity, infrastructure and credit including investments into Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm, Danish Ship Finance, Avantor and TDC. In 2017, PFA led a consortium of Danish pension companies in the DKK 11.6 billion share acquisition in Nykredit constituting the largest ever unlisted equity investment by institutional investors in Denmark.