- Independent and discrete mid-market M&A boutique
- Team of seasoned and trusted advisors
- Offices in Amsterdam & The Hague
- More than 220 projects succesfully completed
- Deal sizes typically vary between €5m to 100m
- Strong domestic and international network
Chestnut, founded in 2002, is an independent financial advisory firm focused on mergers & acquisitions (M&A), debt and equity financing, financial restructuring, investments, and more. Since its inception, Chestnut successfully and discretely executed more than 220 transactions and assignments.
Based on Chestnut’s reputation in providing pragmatic (ad-hoc) advice and deal execution experience, Chestnut maintains close working relationships with a growing circle of clients. In doing so, over the years Chestnut has gained a profound understanding of financial matters, independent of sector.
While supporting companies and its shareholders in creating and realizing value, we find most challenge in complex (financial) situations.
As a result of our focus on complexity rather than sector, we are able to provide a broad range of services, independent of a client’s business, size or industry
Services
Mergers & Acquisitions
Our M&A expertise comprises advice and deal support on mergers, acquisitions, divestments, and strategic alliances.
Equity & Debt Financing
On all stages of the spectrum (i.e. distress to growth financing or recapitalizations), Chestnut provides tailored advice on both equity- and debt financing
Special Assignments
On all stages of the spectrum (i.e. distress to growth financing or recapitalizations), Chestnut provides tailored advice on both equity- and debt financing
Our clients
Since founding, Chestnut has advised over 150 clients, varying from SME’s (EUR 5m – 100m) to mid-market corporations (EUR 100m – 1b).
With a strong network covering all sorts of investors (formal & informal, strategic & financial), we are able to efficiently advise both the investees and investors.
Scale-ups
Formal & Informal Investors
Family Businesses
Small-Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
Mid-Market Corporates
Team
Chestnut gains its strength from the expertise, commitment and experience of its employees. Our team has a strong history and track record in executing complex transacations and assignments. Read more about the background and experience of our staff.
Recent transactions

Private placement & secondary buy-out

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Jellow
Omschrijving
Jellow is a fast growing online platform that matches companies (employers) with freelancers particularly in Business Services. The company was founded in 2012 and has offices in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the founders of Jellow resulting in among others the raising of growth capital from Mediahuis NV, the Belgian giant media company that owns among others the Dutch NRC and Telegraaf.

Acquisition of Partou Kinderopvang & Smallsteps / KidsFoundation by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the Works Council of Smallsteps
Omschrijving
Smallsteps provides childcare services and is with over 250 childcare centres, one of the biggest childcare providers in the Netherlands. The Works Council of Smallsteps is (legally) tasked with providing advice to the company, for a.o. strategic decisions with a material impact on the employees of Smallsteps
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Works Council of Smallsteps during the request for advice from Smallsteps, regarding the acquisition of KidsFoundation Holdings (including Smallsteps) and Partou Kinderopvang by Onex and Waterland.

Acquisition of the GoodNRG Group by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to GoodNRG
Omschrijving
GoodFuels is a sustainable fuels pioneer and energy transition partner for the marine industry and heavy transportation. The biofuels from GoodFuels are immediately applicable as substitution for fossil fuels, thereby reducing CO2 up to 90%. In addition GoodNRG introduces innovative sustainable products, services and business models on a regular basis.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the GoodNRG Group and its shareholders, resulting in the sale of the group to FinCo Fuel Group, a portfolio company of Coloured Finches.

Acquisition of Urban Arrow by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Urban Arrow
Omschrijving
Urban Arrow is a Dutch manufacturer of electronically driven cargo bikes that aims to be the frontrunner in urban mobility.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to Urban Arrow and its shareholder, resulting in the sale of the company to Pon Bike (part of Pon Holdings), a substantial player in the bicycle market.

Private placement

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to StuDocu
Omschrijving
StuDocu is a crowdsourced online study platform offering access to shared materials (e.g. book summaries, past exams and lecture notes) to students from all over the world. Quality of content is ensured through user ratings and automated quality control.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to StuDocu and its shareholders, resulting in the raising of growth capital from Piton Capital (a venture capital firm based in London).

Acquisition of DatacenterNext by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to DatacenterNext
Omschrijving
DatacenterNext is a full fledged Cloud Managed Service Provider, which manages its clients’ entire operational IT platform. Services include infrastructure and platform services, as well as designing the client’s IT transformational strategy.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to DatacenterNext and its shareholder, resulting in the sale of the company to Strikwerda Investments, a family office investment firm founded in 2000.

Acquisition of e-Village by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to e-Village
Omschrijving
e-Village is a leading email marketing agency in The Netherlands. With an inhouse developed state-of-the-art email marketing software (Clang) and a team of 70 email specialists, the company helps its clients to increase the effectiveness of marketing campagnes and customer contact moments.
Inspired Thinking Group (ITG) is a specialist marketing services and technology business that helps major brands and retailers improve the efficiency, speed, cost and control of their marketing operations. ITG employs almost 600 people and is headquartered in Birmingham, UK.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the management and shareholders of e-Village during the transaction, resulting in the sale of e-Village to ITG, a portfolio company of Equistone.

Acquisition of TCN Datahotels by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to TCN Datahotels
Omschrijving
QTS Realty Trust, a stock exchange listed (NYSE) leading provider of software-defined and mega scale data center solutions, has acquired the two data centers of TCN Datahotels. The asset deal comprises one data center in Eemshaven and one in Groningen, for a purchase price totaling USD 44m.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to TCN’s management and other stakeholders, resulting in the sale of the two datacenters to QTS.

Acquisition of Arttic by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to PNO
Omschrijving
ARTTIC is a European market leader in consultancy and management services for research and technological development. With its long-standing experience in financing programs in various scientific and technological areas, ARTTIC assist her clients to move from strategic plans to effective competitive operations. The company has multiple offices in North-West Europe, with its headquarters located in Paris.
PNO offers a wide range of subsidy, innovation and compliance services and is strongly positioned in the sectors life sciences & health, energy, climate & environment. In the Netherlands, PNO is among others market leader in the area of R&D subsidies (WBSO-dienstverlening).
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the management and shareholders of PNO in the transaction, resulting in the acquisition of ARTTIC.

Acquisition of Nimsys by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Nimsys
Omschrijving
Nimsys manages networks and provides internet, VoIP telecom and other IT services to renters of multi tenant buildings.
Chestnut advised the shareholders of Nimsys during the proces of selling Nimsys B.V. to a subsidiary of Gamma Communications PLC, a listed British telecom and internet provider.

Acquisition of Swagemakers by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Swagemakers
Omschrijving
Swagemakers Intermodaal Transport (Swagemakers) is an intermodal transport and logistics provider with ca. 30 – 40 employees, strategically located in the North Sea Port (Westdorpe). The Company has a strong footprint in bulk and liquid goods, with a long-standing client portfolio.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to Swagemakers and its shareholder in the sales process resulting in the sale of a majority stake to Trimodal Container Terminal Terneuzen (3-MCT).

Business case support

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to FoodVentures
Omschrijving
Since 2010 FoodVentures develops and invests in high-quality environment greenhouses in emerging countries. Investments of the company include greenhouses in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Georgia.
Chestnut compiled a comprehensive financial business case for FoodVentures.
Acquisition of Graydon Incasso by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Graydon
Omschrijving
Graydon is a business information provider in the field of financial information, marketing information, risk & compliance and debt collection. The debt collection activities mainly comprise amicable and international debt collection services.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the management of Graydon in the sales process resulting in the sale of the Dutch debt collection activities to Ultimoo.

Acquisition of Smallsteps and KidsFoundation by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the Works Council of Smallsteps
Omschrijving
Smallsteps provides childcare services and is with 250 childcare centres, one of the biggest childcare providers in the Netherlands. The Works Council of Smallsteps is (legally) tasked with providing advice to the company, for a.o. strategic decisions with a material impact on the employees of Smallsteps
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Works Council of Smallsteps during the request for advice from Smallsteps, regarding the acquisition of Smallsteps by Onex. Onex is a reputable listed (Toronto Stock Exchange) Canadian private equity firm with over $32 billion of assets under management.
€4.5m private placement

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Siilo
Omschrijving
Siilo is an online secure messaging platform tailored to the needs of healthcare professionals.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders and management of Siilo, resulting in the raising of growth capital of EUR 4.5m provided by EQT Ventures and existing shareholders for the purpose of foreign expansion of the business.

Business case valuation

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Le Pain Quotidien
Omschrijving
Le Pain Quotidien is a restaurant chain which serves dishes made of biological and local ingredients where possible. Breakfast, lunch and brunch courses are mainly served in the local stores, of which there are nine in the Netherlands.
On shareholders’ request, Chestnut compiled a financial business case for the company, followed by a valuation analysis based on the business case.

Valuation analysis

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Mendix
Omschrijving
Mendix offers a software platform to build, integrate and deploy web- and mobile applications to clients around the world.
Chestnut conducted a valuation analysis of Mendix.

Acquisition of Lumat by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Lumat
Omschrijving
Lumat is a leading distributor of high tenacity yarns, such as Polyester, Polyamide, Aramid and Synthetic continuous filament yarns that are used in ropes, strappings and fabrics. Over the last twenty years, Lumat has become the principal distributor of industrial yarns in Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders and management of Lumat in the sales process resulting in the sale of Lumat to Active Capital Company.

Proposed joint venture between Tata Steel Europe & Thyssenkrupp SE

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the Central Works Council of Tata Steel Nederland
Omschrijving
Tata Steel is one of Europe’s leading steel producers, with steelmaking in the UK and Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The company supplies high-quality strip steel products to demanding markets such as construction, automotive, packaging and engineering. Tata Steel Netherlands (TSN) produces and delivers over 7 million tonnes of flat steel on an annual basis. TSN employs over 11.000 people, of which over 9.000 at the fully integrated site and value chain in IJmuiden. The Central Works Council (CWC) of TSN is tasked with providing advice to the company, for a.o. strategic decisions with a material impact on the employees of TSN.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the CWC of TSN during the full consultation- / advisory process, regarding the request for advice from TSN in relation to the proposed joint venture between the European steel activities of Tata Steel and thyssenkrupp. Thyssenkrupp is Europe’s second largest steel producer with its main production facility in Duisburg (Germany).

Acquisition of Hedera Consulting (NL) by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of the Dutch entity of Hedera Consulting
Omschrijving
Hedera Consulting, having its offices located in Belgium (HQ) and the Netherlands, is a consulting firm with its main focus on company advice and data analysis. The company serves clients in a.o. Italy, Switzerland, Scandinavia, the UK and the Middle-East. The company’s expertise include growth strategy, innovation, marketing, sales and customers service.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders of the Dutch entity in the sales process resulting in the sale of Hedera Consulting to Cognizant.

Private placement

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to GoodFuels
Omschrijving
GoodFuels aims to be a one-stop shop for sustainable biofuel. The company is currently active in two markets, the marine industry and the road & rail industry. In addition, GoodFuels is also actively involved in the development of new types of sustainable biofuels.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to GoodFuels and its shareholders resulting in the raising and structuring of additional growth capital for the purpose of further development of the business.

Management buy-out

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the management of HSB
Omschrijving
HSB, a company comprising 300+ employees, provides tailor-made work in areas of real estate development, new-build projects, renovation, small construction and subcontracting. The company mainly develops and realizes sustainable projects for developers and housing corporations in specifically the northwest- and the middle of the Netherlands.
Chestnut performed a valuation of the company.

Valuation analysis

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Burdock Group
Omschrijving
Burdock Group provides complete solutions for projects in the civil & structural, energy and oil & gas sectors. The company is specialized in project management, recruitment and consultancy.
Chestnut conducted a valuation analysis of Burdock Group.

Valuation analysis

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to RWS
Omschrijving
RWS is an executive branch of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. RWS is responsible to maintain and improve traffic flows throughout The Netherlands. Additionally, RWS is responsible to construct and maintain waterways, while simultaneously assuring its quality and safety.
Chestnut conducted a valuation analysis for RWS. The assignment was aimed to value the B2C activities of the private company VID Netherlands.

Acquisition of Golden Age Cheese Store by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Westland Kaas Groep
Omschrijving
Golden Age Cheese Store (“GACS” and / or the “Company”) has developed a unique retail formula to sell cheese as souvenir package. The Company is located on 3 locations in city-centre of Amsterdam. Westland Kaas Groep (“WKG”) focuses on development, marketing and sales of (its own) branded cheese products. Two examples of its own cheese brands are Old Amsterdam and Maaslander.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to Westland Kaas Groep with the preparation and acquisition of Golden Age Cheese Store.

Acquisition of a minority stake in Dynamic Credit by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Dynamic Credit
Omschrijving
Dynamic Credit is an alternative fixed income asset management firm that manages (securities of) loans of others and its own proprietary direct lending. In 2015, Dynamic Credit set up the first online mortgage distribution platform of the Netherlands (bijBouwe) and in June 2016 they launched the platform LoanClear, a marketplace for loan portfolios.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholder and management of Dynamic Credit during the sale of a minority equity stake to Aegon, a leading financial services organization, providing life insurance, pensions and asset management.

Valuation analysis

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Mendix
Omschrijving
Mendix offers a software platform to build, integrate and deploy web- and mobile applications to clients around the world.
Chestnut conducted a valuation analysis of Mendix.

Acquisition of Bridgevest by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Bridgevest
Omschrijving
Bridgevest is a SaaS and consultancy provider for the Wealth and Retirement Management sector and provides its clients – currently mainly pension funds – in-house developed software tools allowing them to make the step to a client-centric, technology focused and (big) data driven business model.
Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders and management resulting in the sale of their share capital to Keylane, a portfolio company of private equity firm Waterland.

Strategic advisory

Chestnut acted as strategic advisor to KeyGene
Omschrijving
KeyGene is an agricultural research driven biotech company dedicated to perform higher crop yield and quality. KeyGene assists organisations with their R&D challenges, combining cutting edge breeding technologies, bioinformatics & data science expertise and plant-based trait platforms.
Chestnut assisted KeyGene in a strategic decision process regarding one of its research programs.

Acquisition of Fortytwo and Redbee by Internedservices

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of Fortytwo and Redbee
Omschrijving
Redbee focuses primarily on (managed) hosting activities, including PCI DSS compliant hosting, a security standard that is mandatory for creditcard service providers. The company is experienced in designing, building and managing secure and scalable environments. Fortytwo specializes in consultancy, management and audit activities in comparable segments as Redbee, mainly focused on security, networks and information architectures.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders of Fortytwo and Redbee in the sales process resulting in the acquisition of the companies by Internetservices , the leading IT & cloud services provider in the Netherlands.

Acquisition of a majority stake in Jan Snel by Parcom Capital

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders and management of Jan Snel
Omschrijving
Jan Snel provides a wide range of flexible, modular (semi-)permanent building solutions for a.o. industry applications, healthcare, education, student and refugee housing with a leading market position in the Benelux, next to its special-purpose transportation division.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders and management of Jan Snel during the sale of a majority equity stake to Parcom Capital, a leading mid-market private equity firm active in the Benelux.

Financial advisory

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Sportfondsen
Omschrijving
Sportfondsen is a leading provider of management and operational services in the sports, recreation, well-being and culture sector. The Company manages and operates more than 200 facilities, ranging from swimming pools and other sports facilities to community centres and multifunctional accommodations, for over 70 municipalities in the Netherlands.
Chestnut acted as the advisor to Sportfondsen on a range of corporate finance topics during the first quarter of 2016.

Acquisition of AFoM & SD by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to AFoM & SD
Omschrijving
A friend of mine (AFoM) is a digital agency engaged in social media marketing, specifically focused on Facebook advertising. AFoM realises Facebook campaigns for clients including Philips, Friesland Campina, Nationale Nederlanden and Hunkemöller from concept to execution. Second Degree (SD) is market leader in LinkedIn marketing in the Netherlands.
Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of AFoM and SD resulting in the sale of their share capital to TamTam, a portfolio company of private equity firm Waterland.

Private placement

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Cooqing
Omschrijving
Cooqing is an online culinary meeting place – platform – where amateur chefs can exhibit their cooking skills, where restaurant owners can attract new clients and inspiration and where food lovers can select and follow their favourite amateur chef. “Cooqings” are events organised through the platform where an amateur chef cooks in a professional kitchen for his/her guests and food lovers.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to Cooqing and its shareholders resulting in the raising and structuring of additional growth capital for the purpose of further commercialising and developing the Cooqing platform and franchise.

Acquisition of Code P West by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of Code P West
Omschrijving
Code P West (CPW) focuses on development and creation of assembled industrial products. These products are usually made of synthetic material, metal, fine sheet metal, precision engineering and electronics. In addition, the company produces and sells custom-made 3D printers.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to CPW and its shareholders resulting in a Management Buy-Out (“MBO”) / sale of the Company to a private investor and management.

Acquisition of Digidentity (DDY) by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the founding shareholder of DDY
Omschrijving
Digidentity provides end-to-end identity certification solutions for businesses and consumers that engage anywhere online. DDY’s high-assurance validation and authentication systems create secure environments for digital transactions across industries that include banking and insurance, transportation and logistics, government services, regulatory affairs, and electronic commerce.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the founding shareholder of DDY, resulting in a strategic sale to Solera (a global leader in data and software for automotive, home ownership and identity management), who has been a minority shareholder since 2010.

Acquisition of Poppers by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of Poppers
Omschrijving
Poppers provides a wide range of fasteners (staples, collated nails & screws and metric fasteners) and related power tools to the construction, automotive, packaging and furniture industry.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders of Poppers during the sales process resulting in the acquisition of the company by Senco.

Private placement

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Roger Bacon
Omschrijving
Roger Bacon is a young company that focuses on ‘mass customization’ in the optical industry. By combining proprietary software – that can merge 3D biometric scans and eyewear designs – with 3D printing Roger Bacon produces affordable, high quality, custom-made frames with short delivery times.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to Roger Bacon and its shareholders resulting in the raise of additional growth capital.

Private placement

As minority shareholder, Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Multi Pilot Simulations
Omschrijving
Multi Pilot Simulations develops, manufactures and sells fixed-base, type-specific flight simulators (B737, A320) for airliners (such as Ryanair, WizzAir and El-Al), type-rating training organizations (TRTOs) and flight schools (FTOs).
Acting from its role as minority shareholder, Chestnut professionalized MPS’ finance organization, initiated the transaction with H2 and assisted the shareholders of MPS as principal in this transaction.

Acquisition of a majority stake in a management buy-out

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the management of Valstar
Omschrijving
Valstar Simonis is an independent Dutch bureau of engineers specialising in technological building services. Valstar Simonis is headquartered in Rijswijk, with offices in Apeldoorn, Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Groningen.
Chestnut provided financial advice to the management of Valstar Simonis in a management buy-out transaction; incl. arrangement of the acquisition financing facility.

Acquisition of Bizztravel by Sundio Group

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Bizztravel and its shareholder
Omschrijving
Bizztravel is a travel organization offering winter sports- and summer holidays under the brandnames Bizztravel Wintersport, Beachmasters, Ferio and Skistuds.
Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to Bizztravel and its shareholder in the controlled auction process resulting in the sale of the company to Sundio Group, the privately owned travel organization behind the brandnames Sunweb, Jiba, Eliza was here, Gogo and Husk.

Shareholders restructuring

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the management of Sound of Data
Omschrijving
Sound Of Data offers automated communication services under the labels Customer Care Solutions (“CCS”), Media and Travel.
Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the management-shareholders of Sound Of Data in a shareholders restructuring resulting in the sale of their stake in CCS and Media and the 100% acquisition of Travel, which will continue as a standalone business.

Valuation analysis

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Mendix
Omschrijving
Mendix offers a software platform to build, integrate and deploy web- and mobile applications to clients around the world.
Chestnut conducted a valuation analysis of Mendix.

Valuation analysis

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the Board of PNO Consultants
Omschrijving
PNO Consultants provides financing solutions for innovation, research and investments to clients in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Belgium.
Chestnut conducted a valuation analysis of PNO Consultants.

Valuation analysis of Traverse during the acquisition by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Traverse Adviesgroep
Omschrijving
Traverse Advisory facilitates Dutch SMEs in the area of subsidies and other financial resources.
Chestnut conducted a valuation analysis of Traverse Adviesgroep during the acquisition by PNO Consultants.

MBO/MBI and equity placement by

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the company and selling shareholders
Omschrijving
Riscure is an international, independent security testing laboratory providing testing tools and services to evaluate and stress-test the security of chips and consumer products.
Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the management-shareholders of Riscure in a shareholders restructuring resulting in the sale of their stake and an equity placement by Vortex Capital Partners.
International Network
Socius Global is a partnership of boutique mergers and acquisition (M&A) firms that are committed to providing the highest level of senior attention, with each firm’s founders and tenured partners providing personal corporate finance advisory services to each client and transaction in the middle market – worldwide.
Socius is not only a network, but rather an organization of independent investment banks that work together daily to provide clients with both dedicated service in their respective countries and international reach based on the local knowledge of the senior professionals within each member firm. Simply stated, Socius is a partnership that bridges direct access to the international M&A markets.

Careers
For our offices in The Hague and Amsterdam, we are looking for highly talented people with a financial academic background to join our team.
If you want to take on the challenge and apply for one of the opportunities below, please express your interest by contacting info@chestnut.nl and include your resume, cover letter and your location of preference! See you soon!