Equistone Partners Europe

Equistone is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, BUKO, has expanded its international presence by acquiring Road Rental Scandinavia AB. With this strategic step, BUKO strengthens its position in Europe and its ambition to become the market leader in temporary traffic management. After successful acquisitions in Germany and the United Kingdom, BUKO is now entering the Swedish market with the intention to further grow across Scandinavia. Since funds advised by Equistone acquired a majority stake in BUKO in February 2023, the company has pursued a growth strategy focused on building its presence in its home market and targeted expansion into other European countries supported by strong market dynamics. In March 2024, BUKO established a foothold in the attractive UK market by acquiring Road Traffic Solutions, a temporary traffic and event management solutions specialist operating from seven locations and employing 175 people. With the acquisition of Hooke Highways, BUKO further strengthened its position in this key growth market in November 2024. In October 2024, BUKO also entered the German market with the acquisition of BVT Bremer Verkehrstechnik. Hubert van Wolfswinkel, Partner in Equistone’s Amsterdam office: “We are excited to partner with Road Rental as a fast-growing challenger in the Swedish market and continue BUKO’s strategy of becoming the leading temporary traffic management provider across Europe. We deem the Swedish and other Scandinavian markets highly attractive, underpinned by continued strong infrastructure and energy transition investments.” Press release: https://lnkd.in/e6DBZXbi #privateequity #equistone #mergersandacquisitions

Julie Lorin, a Partner at our Paris office, was delighted to be interviewed by Mergermarket to mark International Women’s Day. In the interview, she discusses the factors driving M&A in 2025, shares her advice for women aspiring to senior roles in private equity, and highlights some of the investments she has been involved in. https://lnkd.in/eKabDPMi

Great to see our General Counsel, Yushra Raheem, joining the discussion about leadership, career development, high performance and reflections on gender balance at Travers Smith's event to mark International Women’s Day.

Equistone is pleased to announce the realisation of its investment in TIMETOACT GROUP, a leading provider of IT services for upper medium-sized companies, corporations and public institutions, to H.I.G. Capital. Since Equistone invested in the business in 2021, TIMETOACT GROUP has acquired eleven businesses as part of an international buy-and-build strategy focused primarily on building out its service offering, consolidating its position in the DACH region and expanding into the US market. Equistone has also supported a number of operational changes, including the consolidation of all IT systems across the group, the implementation of dedicated M&A and operational excellence teams, as well as a robust post-merger integration process. Moritz Treude, Partner at Equistone, said: “TIMETOACT GROUP’s impressive growth over the past three years has been founded on an ambitious growth strategy that we have executed in close partnership with an exceptional management team. The eleven add-on acquisitions Equistone has supported, alongside the operational changes we have helped implement, mean the business is well-positioned for future growth.” Press release: https://lnkd.in/ek2bjm2Q #privateequity #equistone #mergersandacquisitions

Equistone is delighted to be a finalist at this year's Actum Group Private Equity Value Creation Awards in the category Value Creation Deal of the Year – Upper Mid - for its investment in CH&CO. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, 20 March 20: https://lnkd.in/exVFb7m3

Equistone portfolio company TIMETOACT GROUP continues its successful growth trajectory at the start of the year. With the acquisition of the German cloud consulting boutique beBold, the group is strengthening its expertise in IT strategy consulting. This acquisition marks the eleventh addition to the group under the stewardship of Equistone funds and represents another important milestone on its journey to becoming an internationally leading player in independent cloud and digitalization consulting. Press release (English): https://lnkd.in/exhpf2Ma Das Equistone-Portfoliounternehmen TIMETOACT GROUP setzt seinen Wachstumskurs gleich zu Beginn des neuen Jahres erfolgreich fort: Mit der Übernahme der deutschen Cloud-Beratungsboutique beBOLD stärkt die Gruppe ihre Expertise in Sachen IT-Strategieberatung. Die Akquisition markiert den bereits elften Zukauf der Gruppe unter der Ägide der Equistone Fonds und einen weiteren wichtigen Meilenstein auf ihrem Weg zu einem international führenden Player in Sachen unabhängiger Cloud- und Digitalisierungsberatung. Press release (German):https://lnkd.in/eSwSpbpT

Equistone is pleased to announce that it has supported its portfolio company, Talon, the global independent Out-of-Home (OOH) media agency, with the acquisition of Out of Home Masters, the largest independent OOH specialist in the Netherlands. The transaction is the third announced by Talon since Equistone invested in the business in 2022 and provides Talon with an important foothold in the attractive Benelux market.   Paul Harper, Equistone: “Since 2022, we have worked closely with the Talon management team on implementing and pursuing an ambitious buy-and-build strategy. This latest acquisition represents another important milestone for this strategy, which, in combination with accelerated investment into technology and talent, is focused on cementing Talon as the global leader in Out-of-Home advertising.”   Press release: https://lnkd.in/e77KFCzt   #privateequity #equistone #mergersandacquisitions #OOH

Equistone is thrilled to be a finalist at this year's Real Deals Private Equity Awards for DACH Deal of the Year - OTTO Life Science Engineering GmbH. Equistone funds acquired a majority stake in OTTO LSE in a targeted expansion of its previous shareholding in OTTO Luft- und Klimatechnik (OTTO). Following the successful sale of OTTO to Engie GmbH, Equistone funds supported the management team in further developing OTTO LSE, resulting in exceptionally high organic growth, profitability, and an overall money multiple of 9.7x. View all the finalists: https://lnkd.in/e8wnUmxE #PrivateEquity

Equistone is pleased to announce that it has supported its portfolio company, QuestGates Ltd, the UK’s largest independent provider of complex loss adjusting and claims solutions, with the acquisitions of Toppings Forensic Accountants and Brownsword Group. The transactions are the first announced by QuestGates since Equistone invested in the company in September 2024.   Tristan M., Director at Equistone: “One of the key drivers behind our decision to invest in QuestGates was the significant opportunity for the business to consolidate a highly fragmented market. We’re delighted to have supported the team on extending its exceptional M&A track record with these two acquisitions, both of which are highly strategic and will enable QuestGates to continue scaling its fast-growing specialist motor proposition.” Press release: https://lnkd.in/eCm8p28V   #privateequity #equistone #insurance #mergersandacquisitions

As the holiday season approaches, we wish you and your loved ones joy, peace, and prosperity and we look forward to the opportunities that the new year will bring for us to continue our journey together. In 2024, we have been proud to support City Harvest London as our Charity of the Year. City Harvest collects nutritious surplus food from manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers and delivers, for free, to London charities feeding those facing food poverty. We extend our heartfelt thanks to City Harvest for the opportunity to support such an important cause. To find out more information or to make a donation, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eHcDNtCf