Warburg Pincus has agreed to acquire PSI Software, a German company that provides intelligent solutions for sustainable energy supply, production, and logistics, including automotive, energy trading, and gas grids, in an offer which will value the firm at approximately €702 million.
Warburg Pincus said it is ready to launch a voluntary takeover bid to all PSI shareholders at a price of €45.00 per share in cash.
It added it has already secured 28.5 per cent of PSI’s total share capital from its reference shareholders.
As part of the deal, E.ON, currently PSI’s second largest shareholder and a company’s client, will retain its 17.77 per cent stake in PSI and continue to support PSI as a strategic investor.
The agreement aims to promote PSI’s development and growth in the global energy and industrial software market, as well as its transformation towards Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud-native solutions.
Warburg Pincus has stated it will focus on strengthening PSI’s position as a software provider for electrical networks, consolidating its market position and international expansion in America, Europe and Asia, as well as promoting internal efficiency initiatives through process standardisation and internal digitalisation.
In addition, Warburg Pincus said it will provide financing for both organic growth and through merger and acquisition deals, to boost market consolidation in the energy and industrial software sector.
As part of the agreement, Warburg Pincus has stated that it will retain the current management team and employee positions.
The company’s headquarters and registered office in Berlin will also remain unchanged.
Robert Klaffus, chief executive of PSI, said that global trends such as decarbonisation, electrification, automation and digitalisation, as well as the increasing complexity of industrial setups, are creating strong momentum for software-driven innovation.
“Partnering with Warburg Pincus provides the experience, financial strength, and operational backing needed to accelerate the execution of our growth strategy,” he added.
Ryan Dalton, managing director at Warburg Pincus, explained that the company’s experience in the software and energy sectors is aligned with irole in supporting PSI’s next phase of growth.