Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Description

Really Simple Plugins is a leading software company established with the vision to make web security and compliance accessible and user-friendly. It specialises in providing high-quality plugins for WordPress websites.

team.blue offers services from domain names, email, shared hosting, e-commerce and server hosting solutions and specialist SaaS providers offering adjacent products such as compliance, marketing tools and team collaboration products. This broad product offering makes it a one-stop partner for online businesses and entrepreneurs across Europe.

Chestnut acted as sell-side advisor to the shareholders and management of Really Simple Plugins on the sale to team.blue.

Description

Since May 2004, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group: 1 group, 2 airlines, and 3 businesses. The company operates worldwide and is part of the SkyTeam alliance. Its subsidiaries include KLM Cityhopper, KLM Cargo and Transavia. The three core activities are passengers, cargo and engineering & maintenance.

Chestnut OR Advies acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Works Council of KLM.

Description

Valk Solutions offers cloud solutions that provide insight to effectively manage customers, products, prices, inventories and stimulate sales. Through a solid POS, OMS and WMS foundation for franchise retail, branch operations, wholesale, catering and e-commerce.

Chestnut OR Advies acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Works Council of Valk Solutions.

Description

Swagemakers Intermodaal Transport (Swagemakers) is an intermodal transport and logistics provider, strategically located in the North Sea Port area (Westdorpe). The Company has a strong footprint in bulk and liquid goods.

Chestnut acted as exclusive financial advisor to Swagemakers and its shareholder in the sales process resulting in the sale of the stakes to Trimodal Container Terminal Terneuzen (3-MCT).

Description

Partou is a leading childcare chain with over 700 locations. Last year, more than 70,000 children visited their daycare centers or out-of-school care locations.

Chestnut OR Advies acted as exclusive financial and organizational advisor to the Works Council of Partou on two 2 different assignments.

Description

Studytube is a fast-growing B2B edtech scale-up that offers companies and governments an advanced and integrated learning platform. With Studytube’s platform, organizations can manage and monitor their entire staff’s learning needs.

Springest, part of Studytube, is a training-booking marketplace for companies and their employees.

Chestnut acted as sell-side advisor to Studytube on the sale of Springest including part of its client base to Archipel Academy.

Description

Groveko is a distributor of cleaning and hygiene products based in the Netherlands. In addition to its traditional product offering, the business is the market leader in robotic and smart cleaning solutions in the Benelux.

Bunzl is an international distribution and services company in the fields of retail, foodservice and cleaning & hygiene amongst others. It has operations across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the UK and Ireland.

Chestnut acted as sell-side advisor to the shareholders and management of Groveko on the sale to Bunzl.

Description

Powerd offers smart charging solutions for electric cars. With an advanced software platform and smart charging stations, Powerd enables business customers to offer sustainable mobility to employees.

Groendus is a Dutch company specialising in sustainable energy solutions, offering services such as energy consulting and solar panel installations to businesses customers.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to the shareholders and management of Powerd on the sale to Groendus.

Description

PNO offers a wide range of subsidy, innovation and compliance services and is strongly positioned in the sectors life sciences & health, energy and climate & environment. In the Netherlands, PNO is among others market leader in the area of R&D subsidies (WBSO-dienstverlening).

Bencis is an independent investment fund with offices in Amsterdam, Brussels and Düsseldorf focusing on mid-market investments in European companies.

Chestnut acted as sell-side advisor to the shareholders and management of PNO on the sale to Bencis.

Description

H. Hoornaert Scheepswerf De Schroef (HHSW) is located in Sas van Gent along the busy shipping route of the Ghent-Terneuzen canal. The shipyard provides various services for seagoing and inland vessels up to a length of 162 meters, including repair, conversion, outfitting and new construction. The facilities (including two dry docks and a slipway) are fully equipped to perform work above AND below the waterline.

Chestnut assisted and advised (both strategically and financially) HHSW in realizing an asset/liability transaction, resulting in the sale of HHSW to Norden Shipyard, part of Hicri Ercili, a major player in the shipping market.

Description

DPD – part of the French Groupe La Poste – is one of the largest logistics service providers of Europe. As part of an active buy & build strategy, DPD is continuously searching for (digital) innovations and complementary services for its customers.

Cool Runnings is a logistics expert that specialises in conditioned transport, particularly of fresh and frozen foods in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Chestnut advised DPD in the acquisition of Cool Runnings.

Description

Founded in 2019, Payaut is an Amsterdam-based fintech that provides an automated payment solution for online marketplaces. Payaut acts as an intermediary between sellers and the various Payment Service Providers (PSPs), meaning that marketplaces are no longer dependent on a single PSP.

The €8.0m Seed round was led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund, with participation from existing investors LocalGlobe and Entrée Capital.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Payaut in the fundraising process.

Description

Open HealthHub is a Netherlands based healthtech plaform focused on secure health data exchange between healthcare providers and patients aimed to reduce the administrative burden in healthcare. Currently, the Open HealthHub platform is successfully implemented at various European hospitals, clinics and research groups.

Holland Capital, who provided the growth capital to Open HealthHub, has successfully invested in more than 150 Dutch SMEs over the past 40 years. It is active in the growth markets of Healthcare and Technology.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Open HealthHub in the fundraising process.

Description

Studytube is a fast-growing B2B edtech scale-up that offers companies and governments an advanced and integrated learning platform. With Studytube’s platform, organizations can manage and monitor their entire staff’s learning needs.

Energy Impact Partners (EIP), a US based growth investor (€2bn+ fund), and Verdane, a €3bn+ Scandinavian investment fund, invested $30m in the Series B round.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Studytube in the fundraising process.

Description

Studytube is a fast-growing B2B edtech scale-up that offers companies and governments an advanced and integrated learning platform. With Studytube’s platform, organizations can manage and monitor their entire staff’s learning needs.

Springest, part of FD Mediagroep, is a European training-booking marketplace for companies and their employees which is active in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and Sweden.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Studytube on the acquisition of Springest.

Description

Sycada is a tech and software developer that offers tools with the aim of making transport and mobility greener, safer and more efficient. Sycada is a pioneer in zero-emission operations and has been involved in several major innovation programs for vans, trucks and buses. They serve more than 1,000 corporate clients across Europe from offices in Amsterdam, Munich and Athens.

Chestnut has conducted a valuation analysis of the company on behalf of the shareholders.

Description

Marma Vastgoed is an investor, developer and manager in commercial and residential real estate. With a strong focus on the South Holland region, the years of experience and knowledge add value to the portfolio. The activities of Marma Vastgoed include: (i) Purchase of and final investment in commercial real estate and homes, (ii) Rental of offices, business premises, shops and houses/apartments and (iii) Development projects (new construction).

Chestnut has been commissioned by the company to prepare a comprehensive financial model.

Description

Partou is a childcare chain, and, with over 700 locations, it is one of the largest childcare chains in the Netherlands. Last year, almost 67,000 children visited their daycare centers or out-of-school care locations.

Chestnut OR Advies acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Works Council of Partou.

Description

Tata Steel Netherlands (TSN) is one of Europe’s leading steel producers, with steelmaking in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The company supplies high-quality strip steel products to demanding markets such as construction, automotive, packaging and engineering. 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.

Chestnut OR Advies acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Central Works Council of Tata Steel Netherlands.

Description

The Westland Kaas Groep family business has been a trusted name in the worldwide cheese market for 85 years. Among other things, Westland Kaas is known for the brands Old Amsterdam, Maaslander, Westlite and Trenta. Westland Kaas focuses mainly on Marketing, Sales and Research & Development. Carefully selected partners take care of the production and packaging of the cheeses. In 2021, the first plant-based products from a joint venture with Those Vegan Comboys were introduced.

Chestnut has assisted the board of Westland Kaas in various corporate finance issues.

Description

MB-ALL is active in the secondment of professionals that focus on security and livability in the public domain. More than 350 specialists focus on supervision, enforcement, and legal assignments. With more than 200 municipalities and government agencies as their client, MB-ALL is the market leader and thought leader in the Netherlands when it comes to security and livability in the public domain.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to MB-ALL on the sale to ADG Dienstengroep

Description

Infra Foodbrands (IFB) is a specialized producer of fruit juices through the Maaza, Sunland and Limondaine brands. IFB sells approximately 30 million units (15 million liters) of fruit juices and drinks per year in 40+ countries in Europe, West Africa, North America and the Caribbean. IFB was sold to Riedel, the leading Dutch juice company with a turnover of € 200m.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to IFB on the sale to Riedel.

Description

Sportfondsen is one of the largest Dutch operators in the field of sports, recreation and wellness accommodations.

The Sportfondsen / Laco combination creates a leading market position with more than 300 locations, more than 3,500 employees and 20 million visitors. The new combination makes an important contribution to a (more) vital Netherlands. By joining forces, Sportfondsen and Laco are building a strong organization that can meet the challenges of today and those of the future, such as digitization, legislation and regulations, sustainability and rising energy costs. Together, the companies form a very solid organization that locally connects the municipality and its residents.

Chestnut advised Sportfondsen throughout the full process to become one strong national partner in the field of sports, recreation and wellness accommodations.

Description

NPEX is a stock exchange where investors can buy and/or trade stocks and bonds of Dutch SMEs. NPEX was founded in 2008 and is the abbreviation of Nederlandsche Participatie Exchange. Entrepreneurs can realize their financing from 1 million euros via NPEX. This can be done by issuing bonds or depositary receipts for stocks. These can be traded on the NPEX stock exchange after issuance.

Commissioned by NPEX, Chestnut prepared the Limited Sanity Check to define the financial position, revenue models and risks of the relevant client’s listing.

Description

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 Partou Kinderopvang & Smallsteps / KidsFoundation.

Description

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 Central Works Council of Tata Steel Europe.

Description

DPD – part of the French Groupe La Poste – is one of the largest logistics service providers of Europe. As part of an active buy & build strategy, DPD is continuously searching for (digital) innovations and complementary services for its customers.

BK Pharma Logistics and BK Sneltransport offer conditioned pharmaceutical transport for leading national and international companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.

Chestnut advised DPD in the acquisition of BK Pharma Logistics and BK Sneltransport.

Description

Portavita and MGRID are two medical ICT companies. Portavita provides ICT solutions for regionally organized screening, prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. MGRID provides business intelligence for large-scale data integration and self-service analytics environments.

CompuGroup Medical Nederland B.V. (CGM) is part of the German listed company CompuGroup Medical, Europe’s largest developer of primary care automation.

Chestnut advised the shareholders of Portavita and MGRID in the sale to CGM.

Description

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 Central Works Council of Tata Steel Europe.

Description

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 Partou Kinderopvang & Smallsteps / KidsFoundation.

Description

Founded in 2019, Payaut is an Amsterdam-based fintech that offers an automated payment solution for online marketplaces. Payaut functions as an intermediary between sellers and the different Payment Service Providers (PSPs) whereby marketplaces are no longer dependent on one single PSP.

The seed investment round was led by LocalGlobe, Entrée Capital and Finch Capital together with a group of angel investors with a strong background in the fintech industry (a.o. ex-Mollie and Adyen C-level executives).

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Payaut in the fundraising process.

Description

The Dutch is a premium 18 hole Inland Links golf course aimed primarily at corporate members. The Dutch was established in 2008 and has a par 71 Colin Montgomerie Signature Design golf course.

Chestnut advised the shareholders of The Dutch in various corporate finance related topics.

Description

Bonarius specializes in the installation and maintenance of central heating systems for housing associations and commercial property managers. Bonarius manages more than 200,000 individual and 550 collective installations.

Chestnut assisted Bonarius in the transfer of part of the shares within the family to the current CEO and son of the owner of the company.

Description

VVE NL manages c. 245 VVEs, parking associations and apartment cooperatives in and around Amsterdam. The company is involved in both new build and existing construction and arranges administrative, financial, technical and managerial issues. As an independent VVE manager, the company is independent of housing associations or brokers.

Chestnut has conducted a valuation analysis of the company on behalf of the shareholders.

Description

Chordify is a fast-growing music edtech company that has developed proprietary technology to convert music into chords. On the Chordify platform, users can learn to play themselves by using the chords generated by Chordify. The business case is based on a freemium SaaS model.

Chestnut conducted the valuation analysis to support the company’s Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP).

Description

Studytube is a fast-growing B2B edtech scale-up that offers companies and governments an advanced and integrated learning platform. With Studytube’s platform, organizations can manage and monitor their entire staff’s learning needs.

Verdane is a €3bn+ Scandinavian investment fund focused on €10-150m investments in European tech scale-ups.

Chestnut has assisted Studytube in the €10m investment round by Verdane.

Description

Founded in 2019, Payaut is an Amsterdam-based fintech that offers an automated payment solution for online marketplaces. Payaut functions as an intermediary between sellers and the different Payment Service Providers (PSPs) whereby marketplaces are no longer dependent on one single PSP.

The pre-seed investment round was led by LocalGlobe and Finch Capital together with a group of angel investors.

Chestnut acted as financial advisor to Payaut in the fundraising process.

Description

Venum is de voormalige joint venture tussen VBO en Wazzup Software, de ontwikkelaar van Housenet en Kolibri. Venum zet haar activiteiten vanaf heden voort onder de handelsnaam Kolibri.

VBO is een brancheorganisatie voor makelaars, taxateurs en verhuur-specialisten. Met circa 1.200 leden is VBO in geheel Nederland vertegenwoordigd. VBO ondersteunt haar leden o.a. met producten en diensten, opleidingen, voorlichting en belangenbehartiging.

Wazzup Software ontwikkelt al bijna 20 jaar software voor makelaars. Haar focus op de makelaardij en de ontwikkeling van stabiele, maar flexibele platforms heeft geresulteerd in Housenet, een professionele en betaalbare oplossing voor makelaarswebsites, en Kolibri, het gebruiksvriendelijke, effectieve en flexibele CRM-systeem voor de makelaardij.

Chestnut heeft VBO bijgestaan en geadviseerd (zowel strategisch als financieel) bij het realiseren van de transactie, resulterend in 100% aandelenbelang van Venum gehouden door VBO en een overname van de Housenet-activiteiten van Wazzup Software.

Description

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.

Description

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.

Description

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.

Description

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.

Description

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.

Description

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.

Description

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.

Description

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).