Exclusive-Apax, Bain and CVC exploring potential bids for SoftwareOne, sources say

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Oliver Hirt

LONDON (Reuters) – Apax Partners, Bain Capital and CVC are each exploring potential bids for SoftwareOne, two people with knowledge of the situation said, three months after the ouster of the Swiss software company’s board.

Talks with interested funds are ongoing, one of the people said. Four sources mentioned Bain and CVC and two of them also named Apax.

SoftwareOne’s board was ousted in April after it rejected a 2.9 billion Swiss franc ($3.27 billion) takeover offer by Bain.

Apax, Bain and CVC declined to comment. A spokesperson for SoftwareOne declined to comment and referred to a statement issued in May, when the company said it had been approached by several bidders.

In May, at the time of its first quarter 2024 trading update, the company said the board had been approached by several parties regarding a potential going-private transaction but didn’t provide names.

Jefferies is advising the board on the matter, a fifth person with knowledge of the matter said. All five people were speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. Jefferies did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Earlier this year, founding shareholders Daniel von Stockar, Rene Gilli and B. Curti Holding, who own nearly a third of SoftwareOne stock, won a vote to oust most of the existing board after it had resisted a sale to Bain.

Analysts and investors believed the move would once again make the company a likely takeover target.

SoftwareOne rejected multiple offers from Bain over the course of last year, saying they provided neither sufficient certainty, nor reflected the value of the company.

SoftwareOne has more than 9000 employees and assists companies to buy and manage software from other providers such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:.O), SAP (SAPG.DE), and Adobe (NASDAQ:.O).

($1 = 0.8855 Swiss francs)