Maguar acquires SaaS HR Software provider HRworks

Software investor Maguar has agreed to acquire the SaaS HR software provider HRworks GmbH (“HRworks”), headquartered in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, through its Maguar I Fund, together with selected co-investors for an undisclosed amount.

HRworks, founded in 1999 by Thomas Holzer, is an integrated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) HR software provider primarily for small and medium-sized companiesin Germany. The company focuses on business-critical HR functions such as time management, travel expenses, personnel management, recruiting and corporate benefits. For over 20 years, HRworks has delivered uninterrupted profitable growth and is currently serving 210,000 users and over 1,700 customers. The company is running a highly scalable technology platform and currently employs 60 FTE located in its offices in Berlin, Frankfurt and Freiburg im Breisgau. According CEPRES, the leading digital investment platform for private capital markets, HRworks continuously outperforms the relevant performance benchmarks.

Maguar is a German private equity manager exclusively focusing on small cap software investments in the DACH region. Founded in 2019 by Arno Poschik, Gunther Thies and Matthias Ick, Maguar specialises in partnering with founder-owned b2b software companies with approx.1-6m EBITDA and supports them in realising their growth potential. Maguar differentiates itself by in-depth software expertise and its entrepreneurial approach. Both Gunther Thies and Matthias Ick are established, long-term successful software and tech founders as well as CEOs.

Arno Poschik, Founding Partner of Maguar, said: “HRworks is a high-quality software company which we have been following for more than a year now. We are quite impressed by its performance and the differentiated positioning of HRworks in the German SME market. We are extremely excited about supporting the company and helping it become a champion of the German HR tech space. The HRworks acquisition marks a major milestone for Maguar on its path to become the leading private equity tech investor in the small cap space in the DACH region.”

Thomas Holzer, founder and CEO of HRworks, added: “I naturally connected with Maguar’s in-depth software expertise as well as the team’s entrepreneurial approach and efficient execution. Finding an adequate successor is a complex and challenging task for a founder. I found it very inspiring to have Gunther Thies’ exit of STP as a blueprint for what I am trying to achieve. I am convinced that HRworks is in good hands and the Maguar team will successfully support HRworks to reach its next level of growth over the coming years.”

Gunther Thies, Founding Partner of Maguar commented: “HRworks is a fantastic business. I see a lot of similarities between HRworks and STP; both companies are highly successful niche players with very strong market positioning and growth potential. I am proud that we were ableto win the trust of Thomas Holzer to partner with us and his conviction that we will help delivering on the company’s growth plans. This is a clear evidence of Maguar’s differentiated positioning as a preferred partner for software founders.”

Matthias Ick, the third Founding Partner of Maguar, concluded: “HRworks fits perfectly with our sweet-spot investment criteria, which are built around high-quality b2b software businesses with recurring revenue models and significant growth potential. We strongly believe in HRworks’ further sustainable revenue growth based on leveraging value drivers we are well familiar with.”

Maguar has chosen a selected group of institutional investors, amongst them, Aberdeen Standard Investments, EMZ, Golding and LFPE, who are coinvesting alongside the Maguar I Fund. Aberdeen Standard Investments acted as lead co-investor with Mark Nicolson, its Head of Primary Investments, commenting: “We see Maguar as one of the most exciting emerging managers in Europe with the quality of the HRworks transaction showcasing their core strengths as software entrepreneurs and investors”.

The acquisition financing is provided by Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG.

Maguar was advised by Clifford Chance, Deloitte, Lupp & Partner as well as wdp on this transaction. Carlsquare acted as sell-side advisor for Thomas Holzer.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in September 2020.

Contacts Arno Poschik, Founding Partner Maguar, ap@maguar.com, www.maguar.com