KKR to acquire German IT firm Datagroup for about $500 million (updated)

Datagroup SE

16/04/2025 24:36

KKR to pay 33% premium for Datagroup shares

Datagroup to delist, expected in Q3 2025

Company's shares jump around 31%

Adds share price, advisers, quote, changes dateline to April 16

By Emma-Victoria Farr

FRANKFURT, April 16 (Reuters) -
U.S.-based private equity firm KKR KKR.N has reached a deal with Frankfurt-listed Datagroup D6HG.DE to buy the firm in an all-cash transaction that values it at about 450 million euros ($508 million), the IT services provider said on Tuesday.

Under the terms of the agreement - the latest in a flurry of acquisitions by the U.S. company - KKR will pay 54 euros for each Datagroup share held, representing a 33% premium on the company's last closing price of 40.75 euros.

Shares in Datagroup
jumped
 around 31% on Wednesday on the news, with the stock at its highest since February 2024.

        Datagroup will delist from the stock exchange once the purchase is settled, with closing expected in the third quarter of 2025, it said in a statement.

Company founder Max Schaber will retain joint control of Datagroup alongside KKR, the statement said, adding that the management and supervisory boards fully support KKR's offer, which is being made primarily through KKR's European Fund VI.

"This investment reflects our strong belief in the importance of digital infrastructure and in Datagroup's potential to lead the digitisation of German Mittelstand (mid-cap) companies and beyond," said Laura Schroeder, managing director at KKR.

KKR has completed a raft of recent deals despite
tariff
 turmoil slowing the pace of dealmaking activity, announcing on Monday the
acquisition
 of OSTTRA, a joint venture of S&P Global and CME Group in a $3.1 billion deal. Last week it also agreed to acquire E45-maker Karo Healthcare from Swedish private equity firm EQT EQTAB.ST.

        Datagroup, which employs around 3,700 staff across Germany, projected in March that its annual revenue would increase to between 545 million euros and 565 million euros this year.

The deal between KKR and Datagroup was reported by Reuters on Tuesday and first reported by Bloomberg News.

ParkView Partners, Goldman Sachs and Hengeler Mueller advised KKR, while Lincoln International and Heuking advised Datagroup.

($1 = 0.8794 euros)

 (Reporting by Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt, Janaki Venugopalan and Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Joe Bavier)

 ((RajveerSingh.Pardesi@thomsonreuters.com))