The acquisition positions Telefónica Tech as one of the top leading European Microsoft solutions providers by securing presence in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Adriatic region and the Nordics.
Telefónica Tech will acquire 100 percent of the shares of BE-terna Group from Deutsche Private Equity and other minority shareholders. The transaction implies valuing BE-terna at 13.7 times its gross operating profit (EV/OIBDA), considering synergies and their results expected for 2022. BE-terna reached €121 million proforma revenues in 2021 and is growing at 30 percent YoY. The closing of the transaction will take place in the coming weeks, following clearance by the German competition authority.
Founded in 2005, BE-terna has a highly skilled team of more than 1,000 employees at 28 locations across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Adriatic region and the Nordics, among other markets. As one of the top five Cloud Microsoft Dynamics partners in Europe, BE-terna specialises in driving digital transformation based mainly on Microsoft, but also works with Infor, UI Path and Qlik to optimise business processes for different industries.
With this acquisition, Telefónica Tech significantly enriches its geographic scale and Professional and Managed Services capabilities across Europe and reinforces its commitment to becoming a leading player in Tech Services in Europe. The acquisition of BE-terna reinforces the growth story of Telefónica Tech, whose revenues approached EUR 1 billion at the end of 2021, growing at 33.6 percent YoY.
The Clifford Chance team advising Telefónica Tech on this acquisition comprised partners Stefan Bruder (Frankfurt) and Simon Schmid, senior associate Ribana Piontek (both Düsseldorf) and associate Jana Landsittel (Frankfurt, all Corporate/M&A), partners Marc Besen, Dimitri Slobodenjuk (both Düsseldorf) as well as senior associate Julius Schradin (Düsseldorf, all Antitrust), partner Olaf Mertgen (Frankfurt) and counsel Cord Freiherr von Mandelsloh (Düsseldorf, both Tax), partner Stefan Simon and counsel Christopher Fischer (both Employment, Frankfurt) as well as partner Claudia Milbradt and senior associate Nicolas Hohn-Hein (both IP, Düsseldorf).
Clifford chance advised from the Madrid office with partner and head of the firm´s Antitrust team in Spain Miguel Odriozola.
The Telefónica legal team was led by Diego Colchero Paetz (general counsel Telefónica Tech) and Miguel Basterra Martinez de San Vicente (Legal director M&A Telefónica).
