June 21, 2022
Rivean Capital is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Trustteam, a leading IT managed services provider headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, from Ardian Expansion.
Founded in 2002 by Stijn Vandeputte, Trustteam serves a broad base of c.6,500 active customers in Belgium and France with a one-stop-shop offering covering the full spectrum of IT services and equipment, cloud, connectivity, cybersecurity and software solutions. Trustteam assists SME clients who typically have limited internal IT skills and expertise and therefore prefer a trustworthy partner that can offer full unburdening from an IT perspective. The company benefits from long-term, secular growth fueled by the increasing digitization of the economy and businesses, the transition from on-premise hardware into the cloud, growing IT complexity, and increased IT outsourcing.
Since Ardian’s acquisition of a majority stake in 2018, Trustteam has rapidly grown both through solid organic growth and targeted M&A. Trustteam and its management, with the backing from Ardian, have successfully completed 6 add-ons in France and Belgium, with France now representing more than 30% of the group’s revenues.
Stijn Vandeputte, Founder & CEO of Trustteam, commented: “Over the last four years, we have significantly accelerated our development and have further professionalized the group, tripling the revenues of the company. We would like to express our gratitude to Ardian for their continuous support and guidance over the past years. We look forward to starting a new chapter with our partner Rivean Capital who have demonstrated an outstanding understanding of our business and full compatibility with our culture. ”
Peter Hujoel, Partner at Rivean Capital, commented: “From the outset, we have been impressed with Trustteam’s track record of consistent organic growth, its value-creative buy-and build strategy and its entrepreneurial management team, creating the leading managed service provider for SMEs in Belgium and Northern France. In an increasingly complex IT environment, Trustteam offers an attractive proposition to fully unburden their SME customers. We are delighted to be partnering with Pieter, Stijn and the rest of the management team to further their growth ambitions, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.”
Nicolas Linkens, Senior Partner at Rivean Capital, added: “This transaction is another milestone for Rivean in Belgium and fits perfectly with our ‘local-for-local’ strategy to partner with ambitious and entrepreneurial management teams regarding the internationalization of their business.”
Arnaud Dufer, Managing Director at Ardian Expansion, commented: “Since our entry to the capital of Trustteam, our objective has been to accompany the Group in its development in Belgium and France through an active buy-and-build strategy. Alongside the seasoned management team, we have supported their objectives to make Trustteam a leading player in IT services. We would like to thank all teams and are happy to pass the baton to a quality partner like Rivean Capital. ”
About Trustteam
Trustteam is a provider of IT managed services provider, specializing in cloud solutions, hardware and networks, software, VoIP and support. Trustteam has two ISO 27001 certified data centers which allow it to meet the most stringent information security requirements. The company was established in 2002 and has offices in Belgium (Kortrijk, Wavre, Heusden-Zolder, Antwerp and Nazareth), France (Colmar and Nancy) and Romania (Iași). With now nearly 6,500 customers, Trustteam is a major player in the IT services market in Belgium and France.
For more information, visit www.trustteam.be
About Rivean Capital
Rivean Capital (“Rivean”) is a leading European private equity investor in mid-market transactions with operations in the DACH region, Benelux and Italy. Rivean manages funds in excess of €3bn and has offices in Utrecht, Brussels, Frankfurt, Zurich and Milan. Since its inception in 1982, Rivean has supported more than 250 companies in realizing their growth ambitions. Other recent investments include MBK Fincom, Init, TAS, EDCO and To-Increase.
For more information, visit www.riveancapital.com
About Ardian
Ardian is one of the world leaders in private investment, with $130 billion in assets under management or advice on behalf of more than 1,300 clients worldwide. Backed by our Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit expertise, Ardian offers its clients a wide choice of investment opportunities and has the ability to meet their needs in an agile manner.
For more information, visit www.ardian.com