Press Releases
Hg invests in F24
Hg invests in F24 to accelerate growth of a pan-European leader for emergency notification, crisis & incident management and critical communications.
- Hg will become the main shareholder in F24 after acquiring stake from current majority owner, Armira.
- Executive board, Dr. Jörg Rahmer, Christian Götz and Jochen Schütte, to remain significantly invested.
- Transaction marks the end of a successful first phase in F24’s buy-and-build strategy, including three acquisitions and integrations.
- Together with Hg, F24 now commences its second phase of both organic and buy-and-build strategy, to accelerate further growth.
Hg, Europe’s leading software investor, today announces that it has entered into an agreement to invest in F24, a pan-European sector leader for emergency notification, crisis & incident management and critical communications, headquartered in Munich, Germany. Hg will invest in a stake currently owned by Armira and co-founder Ralf Meister, and will become the majority shareholder in the business. The Executive Board, Dr. Jörg Rahmer (spokesperson), Christian Götz (co-founder and Executive Board member) and Jochen Schütte (Executive Board member) will remain significantly invested in the business, alongside Hg.
Munich and London, 07. July 2020
F24 partnered with Armira in 2017 and has since then more than doubled its sales by executing a successful growth strategy including three acquisitions and integrations. This transaction marks the end of the first phase of F24’s buy-and-build strategy and a trusted cooperation between the two organisations. Following the transaction, the co-founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ralf Meister, will also be leaving the company.
With F24, Hg continues its focus on businesses providing critical SaaS solutions across Europe. Hg’s investment in F24 will be made from the Mercury 2 Fund.
Nick Jordan, Partner at Hg, states: “The effectiveness and speed with which businesses respond to crises can make or break their future success. Quality solutions that can add peace of mind, with a proven track-record, are highly valued by their customers. We recognise F24 as a true champion in this sector, with a global presence and serving clients across multiple industry verticals. We look forward to continuing their success and accelerating international growth.”
Hg’s investment marks the starting point of the second phase of F24’s buy-and-build strategy to accelerate further growth.
The terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Hg was advised on the investment by Latham & Watkins, Deloitte, E&Y, McKinsey, PWC, Codex and GCA Altium. The former shareholders were advised by Raymond James as exclusive M&A advisor as well as Gleiss Lutz and Taxess.
Dr. Jörg Rahmer, Member of the Executive Board at F24, states: “This new partnership represents a crucial milestone for F24 in accelerating our growth and is evidence for the achievements of our business and team. We’re very excited to welcome Hg, given the depth of experience they have in our sector and their knowledge base, which we’ll be able to use for the benefit of the business and our customers.”
Christian Götz, co-founder and Executive Board member at F24, responsible for Sales, Marketing & PR, HR and Customer Service, adds: “F24 can look back on a history of more than 20 years. Technological progress has shaped us just as much as the constant desire to offer the best solutions for our customers. Together with Hg, we will further accelerate our growth trajectory and be even closer to our customers worldwide, enabling us to cover their constantly growing requirements.”
F24 has an international customer base of more than 2,500 clients in over 100 countries served by more than 170 employees at 12 locations.
Benedikt Joeris, Director at Hg concludes: “F24 has best-in-class and well-invested SaaS solutions, managed by an impressive management team who have been growing the business since inception. We share their passion for technology and innovation and we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”
Press contact:
F24
Dr. Stefanie Hauer
Vice President Marketing & Communication
presse@f24.com
Hg
Tom Eckersley
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About F24
F24 is Europe’s leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for resilience. More than 5,500 customers worldwide rely on F24’s digital solutions, which support companies and organisations through all areas of resilience. Solutions cover business messaging and service notification, emergency and mass notification, incident and crisis management, as well as governance, risk and compliance.
F24 supports customers in virtually every sector ranging from energy, healthcare, industry, finance, IT, tourism and aviation to a wide variety of public organisations. Many years of international experience have made F24 experts in improving resilience with digital solutions.
The company was founded in 2000 in Munich, where F24 AG’s head office is still located. Today, F24 supports companies and organisations in more than one hundred countries, via more than 20 locations in Europe and beyond. The F24 AG Board of Directors consists of F24 co-founder Christian Götz and the spokesperson Dr. Jörg Rahmer.
In July 2020, Europe’s leading software investor Hg became the majority shareholder in F24 AG. Since then, F24 continues to grow within the second phase of its buy-and-build strategy to further accelerate growth and expand the position as market leader in Europe.
In 2018 F24 was the first company based in Europe to be listed in the Gartner report for Emergency and Mass Notifications Systems (EMNS) and meet the stringent requirements of this prestigious institute. In addition, F24 is included in the Forrester Wave™: Critical Event Management Platforms Q4 2023, which looks at “The 10 Providers That Matter Most And How They Stack Up”. This makes F24 one of the most relevant resilience providers worldwide.
Security is a top priority for F24, which is why the highest and most up-to-date safety standards are in place. In 2010, F24 became the first company worldwide to have their Integrated Management System for Information Security (ISMS) and Business Continuity (BCMS) certified by “The British Standards Institution” (BSI). Since then, F24 AG and most of its subsidiaries have been certified up to ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 22301 standards. In addition to annual audits by an independent accredited institution, successful re-certifications according to the international standards ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and ISO 22301:2019 took place in 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022.
About Hg
Hg is a leading European investor in software and services, focused on backing businesses that change how we all do business. Deep technology expertise, complemented by vertical application specialisation and dedicated operational support, provides a compelling proposition to management teams looking to scale their businesses.
Hg has an investment team of over 140 professionals, plus a portfolio team of more than 30 operators, providing practical support to help our businesses to realise their growth ambitions.
Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg has a portfolio of over 30 software and technology businesses, comprising over 35,000 employees across the UK, US and Europe. For further details, please visit the Hg website.
About Armira
Armira is an investment holding based in Munich focused on medium-sized “Mittelstand” companies in the German-speaking region. Armira invests in established, profitable companies with sales between EUR 50m and EUR 500m.
With its unique capital base from entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial families, Armira has the flexibility to deploy capital without a fixed term and can thus focus on the long-term development of its portfolio companies.
The Armira group currently generates sales of over EUR 1.5bn employing more than 8,000 people.