Leading Belgian end-to-end IT services provider joins forces with PE partner

Deal Flash

The Smet family has sold a majority stake in ESC to private equity firm Capital A.

ESC is a leading Belgium-based IT services provider for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The company has more than 150 employees and is a specialist in the Microsoft business software suite, the modern workplace and e-business. By bringing in Capital A, a private equity firm specializing in professionalization and the rollout of ambitious growth plans, ESC gains access to a large complementary network, financial and strategic expertise, and hands-on support for further acquisitions.

We are very satisfied with the services delivered, the expertise brought to the table and the results achieved by Oaklins. We also highly appreciate the joint team approach with Oaklins’ TMT experts in Belgium as well as the Netherlands, and how they managed to both leverage their comprehensive address book and track record in our sector and execute a streamlined and competitive sale process. We are delighted that they matched us with the right partner to progress on our current growth trajectory. CARINE AND PHILIPPE SMET, SHAREHOLDERS, ESC, BELGIUM

Oaklins assists in finding the right partner

Oaklins’ team in Belgium, in collaboration with the team in the Netherlands, acted as exclusive M&A advisor to the shareholders of ESC. By leveraging its knowledge of the IT services sector, the team positioned ESC as a cloud frontrunner with significant up- and cross-sell opportunities.

Read more about the transaction, market trends, deal drivers and M&A valuation aspects