By Amy-Jo Crowley
LONDON (Reuters) – Five Arrows and Insight Partners are considering selling their minority stake in Belgium’s Kpler, three people familiar with the matter said, as specialised data providers see a wave of deals.
The two private equity firms invested more than $200 million for a holding in Brussels-based Kpler in April 2022. The rest is held by co-founders François Cazor and Jean Maynier, who want to maintain control of the business, the people said.
A spokesperson for Kpler declined to comment. Rothschild-owned Five Arrows, which manages 24 billion euros of assets, declined to comment. Cazor and Maynier declined to comment.
Insight Partners did not respond to requests for comment.
Kpler, which specialises in commodities data, received formal pitches from investment banks in the last week for a financial adviser role, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.
A deal could give Kpler an enterprise value of more than 3 billion euros ($3.11 billion), based on estimated annual recurring revenue of more than 200 million euros for 2025 and demand for financial data assets, two of the people said.
Preparations are at an early stage ahead of an auction process later this year, the sources said, adding that it is not certain that a deal will emerge.
Specialised data providers have attracted elevated valuation multiples in recent years, with investors drawn to their predictable subscription-based revenues and steady cashflow.
Last year London-based Argus Media was valued at $4.6 billion, including debt, when chief executive Adrian Binks gained control of the energy data firm, while BlackRock acquired Preqin for 2.55 billion pounds ($3.17 billion).
Private equity firms are facing pressure to return capital to the institutional funds that back them.
Founded in Belgium in 2014, Kpler provides data and information on commodities including gases, liquids and dry bulk as well as other areas of the shipping and maritime industry.
Led by CEO Mark Cunningham, Kpler has made a string of acquisitions in recent years, including Spire’s maritime business last November for $241 million.
It also acquired ClipperData in 2021 and JBC Energy in 2022, as well as MarineTraffic and FleetMon in 2023.
Kpler has more than 600 employees, with offices in New York, Dubai, London and Paris.
($1 = 0.9599 euros)
($1 = 0.8035 pounds)
(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley; Editing by Alexander Smith)
