Today, July 23, an article about the transaction between BlinkLane Consulting and German investment company AUCTUS Capital Partners appeared in the Dutch financial newspaper ‘Het Financieele Dagblad’. Read the full article on this Marktlink transaction in English below.
The fast-growing companies BlinkLane Consulting and Gladwell Academy have received a growth investment from funds managed by the German investment company AUCTUS Capital Partners AG. AUCTUS will support the Management of the companies in the execution of international buy-and-build strategy. Marktlink Mergers & Acquisitions brought both parties into contact and facilitated the deal. With this transaction, AUCTUS is acquiring an interest in the Dutch business, which has its headquarters in Amsterdam as well as branches in Paris and Bangalore.
Founded in 2007, BlinkLane offers high-value consultancy services to corporates and governments, with an emphasis on innovation and organizational transformation. In 2014, it added training and events to its portfolio in technology, strategy and organisation under the Gladwell Academy label.
Driven by digitization and the urgent need for companies to increase their agility and reduce time to market, the market for organisational transformations with a focus on ‘Agile’ has grown spectacularly. Independent market research shows that the Dutch market for Agile organisational transformations is still far from saturated, with annual growth levels of 10% to 15% expected over the next five years. The Netherlands has a leading position in the field of Agile transformations and, together with the Nordics, is a leader in Europe. The German and French markets are developing rapidly and are catching up, with expected growth rates of 15% to 20% over the same period.
The explosive market growth at the European level, along with increasing demand both in the Netherlands and abroad, prompted BlinkLane to approach Marktlink Mergers & Acquisitions in its search for a strategic partner. After discussions with various European investment companies, AUCTUS was ultimately chosen. AUCTUS and the Management plan to invest an additional 30 million euros in further acquisitions in the field of transformational consulting and digitization, primarily in Germany, France and the Netherlands.
M&A advisor Max van Wakeren of Marktlink sees room for an active buy-and-build strategy: “BlinkLane is one of the leading players when it comes to Agile transformations, and has already carried out some 30 major transformations at leading companies. With this infusion from AUCTUS, a party with a proven track record in buy-and-build, the conditions have been created for BlinkLane to become number one in the field in Europe. Its unique and solid position in a fast-growing European market, combined with its experienced management team, makes it an ideal platform for rolling out a buy-and-build strategy.”
CEO Han Driessen, one of the founders and shareholders of BlinkLane, added: “Between the strategy houses and the large full-service parties there is room, and a need, for a medium-sized, specialised pan-European player in organisational transformation. We believe AUCTUS has the experience, the knowledge and the track record to support our growth ambitions, both organically and through targeted acquisitions.”
Part of the dedicated deal team for this cross-border transaction were Max van Wakeren, Tim van der Meer, Laurence Hamilton and specialised M&A Lawyers Paul Schoenmakers and Tim Rikmenspoel.
