Raet, the largest provider of technology and business process outsourcing for Human Resources in the Netherlands, its shareholders and CVC Capital Partners ("CVC"), a leading private equity firm, have reached agreement on the acquisition of Raet by funds advised by CVC. This investment will enable Raet to continue the roll out of its business strategy which is based on innovation in human resources management technology ("e-HRM") and in the fast-growing market for outsourcing of HR services.
Raet has experienced considerable growth in recent years, with €132 million turnover for the last 12 months up to June 2011. Raet currently has approximately 12,500 clients and provides services to a total of 1.5 million employees with its HR and payroll systems, which makes Raet the leader in the Dutch market. Raet offers the full range of HR functionalities including absence management, recruitment and selection, flexibility of term of employment, training and education and employee development. In addition, Raet is the largest operator in the market for fully outsourced administrative HR services and handles personnel administration and payroll processing for more than 200,000 employees. Raet has also in recent years taken over HR Shared Services Centers of companies such as Deloitte, Randstad and Quinto and Randstad's educational activities in the area of HR and payroll. Raet has also entered the pension and insurance market. At the end of this year Raet calculates pension payments for more than a million retired employees. Over the years, the company has undergone a significant transformation from a pure supplier of payroll solutions to a leading e-HRM technology provider, with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions facilitating easy access to the Raet software via a web browser.
Hugo van Berckel, Partner, CVC Netherlands commented "Raet is in an excellent position to achieve further growth and to benefit from the market need for further optimisation and digitalisation of HR processes both nationally and internationally. Its ability to offer a full range of human resources software and services combined with its strong management team make this an attractive investment opportunity for CVC and further demonstrates CVC's commitment to investing in leading companies in the Netherlands with growth potential."
Siddharth Patel, Managing Director, CVC Technology, Media and Telecoms, said: "Raet has invested heavily in expanding its product suite of HRM SaaS and the strong level of interest shown from customers is proof that this is paying off. We believe that Raet's technology is world-class, setting the standard for e-HRM, not just in the Netherlands, but globally. We are excited to have partnered with Raet as CVC continues to expand its portfolio of TMT investments."
CEO of Raet, Cees van den Heijkant is delighted with the new shareholder: "With CVC on board we have a professional shareholder backing us with an excellent reputation in the Dutch market. It's one of the largest and leading private equity firms in Europe. CVC will enable us to successfully continue our growth strategy. Organic growth is our priority, but we will also consider acquisitions that strengthen our position in existing markets or allow us to expand into adjacent market sectors. We will also be exploring the opportunities of an international strategy."
CVC is fully supportive of the company's strategy, investment plan and strong management team and does not foresee any changes for Raet's employees. In partnership with CVC, Raet will endeavour to deliver best value to its clients, partners and employees. Both parties are pleased that the Raet works council has already provided its approval for the transaction.
The acquisition of Raet by CVC will be filed at the relevant anti-trust authorities and is expected to take place in Q4 2011. CVC is acquiring Raet from funds advised by Alpinvest Partners BV and Advent International plc.