Francisco Partners, KKR buy into Italy's TeamSystem at up to €10B
What's the deal? Francisco PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and KKR have agreed to buy minority stakes in Italian software company TeamSystemDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → from its main investor, Hellman & Friedman (H&FDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →), three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. H&F agreed to sell around 10% to Francisco Partners, with a further roughly 5% going to other investors including KKR.
The price: The deal values TeamSystem — which provides accounting, payroll, and business management software to companies and professionals — at between €8 billion and €10 billion, two of the people said. That implies a multiple of roughly 16.5 to 17 times its 2025 adjusted earnings.
The numbers: TeamSystem now generates more than €1.3 billion in revenue and about €600 million in core earnings, one source said. When H&F first invested in 2016, the company posted EBITDA of just €75 million.
Why now? The deal follows a steep selloff in software stocks this year, driven partly by concerns about AI's impact on the sector. Those fears have weighed on valuations and threatened to derail industry transactions.
Why TeamSystem? One source said its products are closely integrated with government e-invoicing systems used by small and medium-sized enterprises, making them harder for AI-driven rivals to replicate. That integration underpins the buyers' bet on business software.
What's the endgame? The transaction lets H&F cash in part of its investment while transferring its remaining stake to another fund it manages — a so-called private IPO process. H&F, which held a 69% stake as of July, gets to return capital to investors at a time when sponsors have struggled to take large portfolio companies public.
The signal: The deal is an encouraging sign for private equity firms with heavy software exposure. Silver LakeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which owns 12.8% of TeamSystem, this week announced it will merge its French software firms CegidDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and SilaeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → into a group valued at more than €10 billion — a sign consolidation is picking up even as AI reshapes the sector.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
