Bridgepoint exits Capella

Bridgepoint Capital continues its recent run of exits with the sale of Capella to Finland Post.

The consideration has not been disclosed.

Bridgepoint Capital, as NatWest Equity Partners, bought Capella from UK-listed Microgen Holdings in a management buyout/ management buy-in in October 1998 for SEK190 million. At the same time Bridgepoint also bought Eurocom-Depora Informationssysteme from Mircogen Holdings, although Eurocom-Depora Informationssysteme currently remains within the Bridgepoint-managed portfolio. (At the time Bridgepoint was understood to have paid a combined value of SEK353.632 million in cash including GBP2.5 million of cash contained within the businesses.)

Capella is headquartered in Stockholm and employs 200 people in its process transaction data business targeted at the financial services sector. During Bridgepoint’s ownership Capella has acquired three businesses: Zetstor Systems, which specialises in data retrieval, Relation & Brand, a customer relationship management business, and TietoEnator Output, a printing and archiving business.

Finland Post is expected to expand its operations into the rest of the Nordic market and Northern Europe using Capella as a platform to achieve this.

Bridgepoint was advised by Nordea Securities, which ran the auction for Capella, Vinge, which provided legal advice, and Arthur Andersen for accounting advice. Finland Post was advised by KPMG.