Exclusive Networks looking at a valuation of more than €2bn

Exclusive Networks has continued with the process of moving towards its IPO, with the firm giving an indication of the price range it is going for and its valuation.

The firm has revealed that its indicative offering price range will be between €20 and €24 per share and the issuing of new shares will help to generate a capital increase for gross proceeds of about €260m. The firm has made it clear that those funds will be used to continue its growth.

The sale of existing shares by Everest UK Holdco and certain managers, employees and former employees of the group should result in gross proceeds between €106m and €156m.

The sale of additional existing over-allotment shares by Everest, which would be a maximum of 15% of the total number of shares offered, will result in gross proceeds of between about €55m to €62m.

According to some reports, the IPO could raise in the region of $492m, with the distributor being valued at €2.1bn.

The channel player, which started life in France and has its headquarters in the country, revealed earlier this month that it had chosen to list on the Euronext Paris after filing its documents with France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), courting investment in a business that has charted a course in delivering emerging security and cloud technologies.

Jesper Trolle, CEO of Exclusive Networks, said the business was attractive for investors and it had a proven track record and was operating in growth markets.

“Exclusive Networks is a global cyber security specialist, and has been at the forefront of disruptive innovation in cyber security and cloud technologies for nearly two decades,” he said. “In that time, we have evolved from a small private company to a global cyber security specialist, with a 36% gross sales CAGR [compound annual growth rate] since 2013.”

Trolle added that the business was following a strategy to support the digital transformation shift happening across the customer base and the IPO on Euronext would help it support that ambition going forward, with the chance to expand its services, extend its geographical coverage and acquire additional companies where it made sense.

“Exclusive Networks is ideally placed to deliver on this vision and take advantage of current market opportunities,” he said. “Cyber security is a highly attractive market, estimated to be worth €58bn in 2020 and growing at a 9% CAGR from 2020 to 2026.

“The cyber ecosystem is getting more and more complex, the channel selling cyber products is fragmented, and technology is evolving very quickly to combat the growing sophistication in threats and cyber attacks. This creates demand for a cyber specialist like Exclusive Networks in the long term, and we look forward to bringing even greater value to our vendors and partners in the future.”

Speaking to MicroScope earlier this month, Trolle made it clear that it remained business as usual for the distributor and its support for vendors and partners throughout the IPO process.