Arma Partners has acted as financial advisor to Ardian on its acquisition of a majority stake in Jakala, in partnership with company founder Matteo de Brabant.
Jakala offers an integrated set of solutions that empower enterprises to better utilise technology and data to meet modern marketing and sales requirements across a variety of international markets, including the US, Brazil and Poland. Headquartered in Milan, Jakala was founded in 2000 as the first company in Italy to combine marketing and technology. Over time, the company has grown organically and inorganically, notably through its merger with Seri System in 2014 and subsequent acquisitions of Value Lab in 2015, Volponi in 2019, 77 Agency in 2020 and several other companies. The company today has 1,000-plus employees, approximately EUR300 million in revenue and has averaged EBITDA growth of 25 per cent pa over the last five years.
Ardian took a minority stake in Jakala in 2018 via its Growth fund and, with this Buyout transaction, Jakala will be provided with financial resources and industrial support to accelerate its growth in Italy and abroad, both organically and through targeted acquisitions. Existing shareholders, Matteo de Brabant, The Equity Club, H14, PFC and Management will reinvest in the Company alongside Ardian.
This transaction highlights Arma Partners’ deep sector expertise in MarTech as well as our continued success advising leading private equity buyers on landmark transactions across Europe.