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

By Amy Jo Crowley and Oliver Hirt

LONDON (Reuters) – Apax Partners, Bain Capital and CVC are each considering potential bids for Swiss software company Software One, three months after the company’s board was ousted, two people familiar with the situation said.

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

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

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

In May, at the time of its first-quarter 2024 trading update, the company said several parties had approached the board about a potential private transaction but did not provide names.

Jefferies is advising the board on the matter, a fifth person familiar with the matter said. The five people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations are private. Jefferies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this year, founding shareholders Daniel von Stokar, René Gelli and B. Korte Holding, who own nearly a third of Software One’s shares, won a vote to oust most of the current board after they resisted selling the company to Bain.

Analysts and investors believe the move would once again make the company a potential takeover target.

SoftwareOne has rejected multiple offers from Bain over the past year, saying they did not provide enough certainty and did not reflect the company’s value.

SoftwareOne has more than 9,000 employees and helps companies purchase and manage software from third-party providers such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:.O), SAP (SAPG.DE), and Adobe (NASDAQ:.O).

(1 dollar = 0.8855 Swiss franc)