Main Capital acquires majority stake in software specialist Ferranti

Antwerp — Main Capi­tal Part­ners (“Main”) and Ferranti, a renow­ned provi­der of mission-criti­­cal soft­ware for the utili­ties indus­try head­quar­te­red in Belgium, announce that Main has acqui­red a majo­rity stake in Ferranti. This marks the begin­ning of a new phase of growth for Ferranti, with a focus on contin­ued product inno­va­tion, inter­na­tio­nal expan­sion and targe­ted acqui­si­ti­ons. The exis­ting manage­ment team will conti­nue to lead Ferranti, with Tom Van Haute assum­ing the role of CEO. 

Ferranti, head­quar­te­red in Antwerp, Belgium, is an estab­lished inter­na­tio­nal soft­ware provi­der for utili­ties. With a team of around 285 profes­sio­nals, Ferranti deve­lops soft­ware that supports well-known energy suppli­ers, distri­bu­tion network opera­tors, water suppli­ers and inte­gra­ted utili­ties in hand­ling central meter-to-cash and distri­bu­tion network opera­tor (DGO) proces­ses in the elec­tri­city, gas, heat and water sectors. The company serves a broad custo­mer base in more than 12 count­ries and has a strong presence in Belgium, the Nether­lands and the UK, as well as a growing presence in Europe and Asia Pacific. 

The utility soft­ware market is supported by attrac­tive long-term trends, inclu­ding the incre­asing comple­xity of regu­la­tory frame­works, the intro­duc­tion of smart meters and the growth of decen­tra­li­zed energy sources. These deve­lo­p­ments are driving demand for modern, inte­gra­ted plat­forms to manage incre­asingly complex ecosys­tems and workflows.
Ferranti is well posi­tio­ned to capi­ta­lize on these trends thanks to its cloud-based MECOMS 365 plat­form and deca­des of enter­­prise-wide indus­try exper­tise. MECOMS 365 is based on Micro­soft Dyna­mics 365 and plays a central role in the day-to-day busi­ness of utility compa­nies. The plat­form inte­gra­tes core modu­les such as custo­mer infor­ma­tion systems (CIS), custo­mer service and reten­tion, market commu­ni­ca­tion and coor­di­na­tion, meter data manage­ment (MDM), pricing, quoting and billing in a single environment. 

Main and Ferranti are jointly pursuing the goal of further streng­thening Ferran­ti’s posi­tion as a relia­ble soft­ware provi­der for the utili­ties indus­try. In the next phase of growth, the focus will be on further enhan­cing the MECOMS 365 offe­ring, acce­le­ra­ting inter­na­tio­nal expan­sion and targe­ting stra­te­gic acqui­si­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties to expand the product range and market presence. 

Sjoerd Aarts, Mana­ging Part­ner and Head of Bene­lux at Main, said: “Ferranti has built an impres­sive posi­tion as a provi­der of mission-criti­­cal soft­ware for the utili­ties sector, a market charac­te­ri­zed by attrac­tive, struc­tu­ral long-term trends. By combi­ning in-depth exper­tise with its scalable MECOMS 365 plat­form, the company has built strong, long-term custo­mer rela­ti­onships in various markets.”

Tom Van Haute, CEO desi­gnate of Ferranti, added: “We are deligh­ted to welcome Main as our new majo­rity share­hol­der. Over the years, we have had the privi­lege of beco­ming a trus­ted part­ner for utili­ties opera­ting in incre­asingly complex and regu­la­ted markets. With Main’s soft­ware exper­tise and inter­na­tio­nal network, we are well posi­tio­ned to advance our product road­map, deepen support for our custo­mers and expand internationally.”

Ernst Nijkerk, outgo­ing CEO and repre­sen­ta­tive of the Nijkerk owner family, added: “It was very important for us to find the right part­ner to support Ferranti in its next phase of growth.”
The closing of the tran­sac­tion is still subject to the neces­sary regu­la­tory approvals.

About Ferranti

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Ferranti was foun­ded in 1976 and is head­quar­te­red in Antwerp, Belgium. The company is a provi­der of busi­­ness-criti­­cal soft­ware for the utili­ties sector. Through its cloud-based plat­form MECOMS 365, built on Micro­soft Dyna­mics 365, Ferranti supports a broad base of utility custo­mers in more than 12 count­ries in the manage­ment of central meter-to-cash and distri­bu­tion network opera­tor (DGO) proces­ses in the elec­tri­city, gas, heat and water sectors. 

About Main Capi­tal Partners

Main Capi­tal Part­ners is a soft­ware inves­tor mana­ging private equity funds in the Bene­lux, DACH, Nordics, France and North America, with appro­xi­m­ately EUR 7.0 billion in assets under manage­ment. Main has more than 20 years of expe­ri­ence in streng­thening soft­ware compa­nies and works closely with the manage­ment teams of its port­fo­lio compa­nies as a stra­te­gic part­ner to drive profi­ta­ble growth and build leading soft­ware groups. Main employs around 95 people in offices in The Hague, Düssel­dorf, Stock­holm, Antwerp, Paris and a branch office in Boston. Main’s active port­fo­lio includes more than 55 soft­ware compa­nies with a total of over 15,000 employees. Through the Main Social Insti­tute, Main supports students with scho­lar­ships for study programs in IT and compu­ter science at tech­ni­cal univer­si­ties and colleges.
— www.main.nl