Vitruvian Partners to Sell Benify to Zellis Group, an Apax Fund Portfolio Company

Payroll and Compensation ManagementHR TechnologyNews

By Business Wire On Sep 3, 2024

Vitruvian Partners, the global growth- and technology-focused investment firm, has signed an agreement to sell Benify, a global benefits administration software provider, to Zellis Group, a leading provider of human capital management (HCM), payroll, and benefits administration software solutions, and portfolio company of funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”). As part of the transaction, Benify will be combined with Zellis Group’ benefits administration and employee engagement software business, Benefex, to create a leading global benefits, reward, recognition, and employee engagement software provider with an enhanced value proposition to customers globally.

Founded in 2004, Benify is a pioneer of benefits administration software services and today offers best-in-class benefits and total rewards solutions via a globally enabled SaaS platform. Following a long-term growth investment programme under Vitruvian ownership since 2011, Benify has evolved from a Sweden-focussed business into a global business within its field, encompassing +1,500 customers, +3,000 benefit providers and +3 million employees across more than 100 countries.

The transaction with Zellis Group marks a significant milestone for Benify on its international growth journey. The resulting combined benefits business, with their complementary services and geographic focus, will together with the Zellis Group payroll and HR software platform bring a truly differentiated customer value proposition at scale to the market with an extended reach into new regions and countries. The acquisition comes at a time when global employers are accelerating investment in technology to create a single global experience across benefits and reward, underpinned by a focus on eliminating administration and ensuring compliance.

Vitruvian funds and the Benify founders will continue to support the combined Benefex and Benify business as minority shareholders in Zellis Group. Vitruvian will work together with majority shareholder Apax funds in supporting Zellis’ investments into market-leading technologies in order to deliver best-in-class products and services.

Joakim Alm, CEO of Benify, said: “We look forward to joining Zellis Group and Benefex to create a leading player in HCM software. By combining our respective strengths, we will further expand our products, services and value to our customers and their employees. The transaction is a testament to Benify’s track record of achieving profitable growth through delivering world class solutions to our customers and the hard work and dedication of our entire team. We are grateful for the support we have received from Vitruvian in accelerating our international growth journey over the past decade.”

Jussi Wuoristo, Partner at Vitruvian Partners, commented: “We are delighted with Benify’s remarkable growth journey to date which has been made possible thanks to the continued commitment of the Benify management team, its founders and its employees over the years. Since our investment, Benify has organically multiplied in size many times over and thus emerged as a strong global player in its field. We are excited to be able to continue our support to the company as a minority shareholder of Zellis Group and are highly enthusiastic about the road ahead.”

Matt Macri-Waller, CEO of Benefex, said: “We’re excited by the opportunity that this combination provides for new and crucially current customers of both Benify and Benefex. Together we share a common goal of powering a truly global and exceptional employee experience for our customers and this acquisition develops the global capabilities of our products and services, whilst bringing together the depth of talent that sits across both organisations.”

John Petter, CEO of Zellis Group, added: “This represents an exciting next chapter for the Zellis Group and is an early demonstration of the commitment of the Apax Funds and Vitruvian Partners to our continued growth.”

Adam Garson, Principal at Apax, said: “When the Apax Funds invested in the Zellis Group, we identified an opportunity to accelerate the growth of Benefex and help establish the business as a leader in the large, fragmented, and growing global benefits administration software segment. The combination with Benify is an important milestone in this growth journey and we look forward to working with the teams at Zellis Group, Benefex, and Benify as the two companies come together.”

Vitruvian focuses on dynamic situations characterized by rapid growth and change across industries, bringing significant expertise in scaling technology-enabled businesses and a strong track record of working with founders and management teams to deliver profitable growth. Vitruvian’s investment in Benify, and now in Zellis Group, adds to the track record of supporting category leading global innovators such as Just Eat, Farfetch, Darktrace, Trustpilot, Marqeta, TransferWise, Skyscanner and others.

Vitruvian has been investing in the Nordics since 2011 and opened an office in Stockholm shortly thereafter. Vitruvian has backed over 80 companies, including fifteen leading Nordic businesses such as Easypark, Accountor, Just Eat and CRF Health, supporting their vision of international expansion and evolution into global champions.

Benify was advised by Deutsche Bank (M&A), Bird & Bird (legal) and Deloitte (financial). Zellis Group was advised by Arma Partners (M&A), Evercore (M&A), and Kirkland & Ellis (legal).

The deal is subject to customary approvals by relevant authorities and the parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.

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