After a successful ownership period of close to four years, Axcel has signed an agreement to sell Conscia, one of the leading northern European providers of secure IT infrastructure solutions, to Nordic Capital Fund IX (Nordic Capital).

Conscia is one of the leading providers of secure IT infrastructure solutions in northern Europe, with local offices in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands, where it builds, services and secures some of Europe’s most complex IT infrastructures. During Axcel’s ownership, Conscia has developed from a challenger in the Danish market to a market-leading player in Europe through significant organic growth and five successful bolt-on acquisitions.

Conscia has just completed the acquisition of NIL in Slovenia, which further strengthens the company’s position within managed IT security and network services and as the most competent provider of IT infrastructure solutions centred around Cisco in Europe. NIL is widely recognised in the industry for its extensive technical expertise.

“I’m very proud that Nordic Capital recognises our strong market position, which is the result of a well-executed strategy and an enormous effort from all the employees at Conscia. We’ve very much enjoyed our partnership with Axcel, which has been an integral part of driving our development. We’re now looking forward to the continued success of Conscia in partnership with Nordic Capital,” says Claus Thorsgaard, Conscia’s CEO.

Christian Bamberger Bro, who was responsible for the investment at Axcel, is very pleased with both the transaction and what the company has achieved.

“The management team and the entire organisation have done a fantastic job over the last four years in terms of successfully accelerating the development of Conscia,” says Christian Bamberger Bro. “As owners, we’re very proud to have been part of this journey and to see Conscia continue its success under the ownership of Nordic Capital. We wish them all the best in the years to come.”

Nordic Capital is delighted with the transaction.

“Nordic Capital is excited to partner with Conscia’s management team as the business continues its transformation into a true European champion. With the newly signed acquisition of NIL in Slovenia, Conscia has added a Security Operation Centre, which in combination with the strong Conscia culture and quality of people offer a great starting point to become a leading European provider of complex and secure network infrastructures with an increasing focus on managed services,” says Fredrik Näslund, Partner at the Advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds.

Conscia is the eighth company to be sold by Axcel’s fourth fund, launched in 2010. The transaction is expected to be completed within two months.

About Conscia
Conscia is a leading European provider of secure, reliable IT infrastructure solutions, with revenue of DKK ~2.0bn. Conscia strives to be the best partner for customers’ mission-critical IT infrastructure throughout the entire life cycle, and supports this through extensive insight gathered in a unique customer platform, CNS, which is the basis for industry-leading customer experience and satisfaction. At the same time, Conscia has the ambition to be the most attractive and admired place to work for talented IT infrastructure specialists with extensive technical expertise. The current Network of Knowledge is 500+ employees spread across five countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Slovenia). For further information, please visit www.conscia.com. 

About Axcel
Founded in 1994 by a group of Denmark’s largest financial and industrial institutions, Axcel is a Nordic private equity firm focusing on mid-market companies and has a broad base of both Danish and international investors. Axcel has raised five funds with total committed capital of more than EUR 1.8 billion to date. These funds have made 52 platform investments, more than 90 major add-on investments and 41 exits. Axcel currently owns eleven companies with combined annual revenue of around EUR 1.2 billion and some 6,000 employees.