advisor interview

Transaction Reports
Transaction Reports
Polaris acquires Configit
Debt provider:
Legal advisor to the
management team:
ADVISOR INTERVIEW
Henrik Elsig Andersen is partner at Amrop Denmark. Henrik holds a M.Sc. in Business Psychology
from the University of Copenhagen. Henrik is responsible for Amrop’s Global Leadership Services
concepts. He works exclusively with leadership assessment, evaluation, coaching and leadership
Legal advisor to the equity provider and risk &
insurance due diligence provider:
development training in both the private and public sector. Amrop is a global Executive Search
and Leadership consultancy with 81 offices in 57 countries. Amrop is the biggest Executive Search
company in the Nordics with offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Malmö, Oslo and Helsinki. Here he
Financial advisor to the
management team:
Financial due diligence
provider & tax advisor:
Commercial and systems
due diligence provider:
Management team due
diligence advisor:
talks to Finance Monthly about the deal and his involvement in more detail
Please tell me about your involvement in
We supplement the interviews with personality
objective and nuanced input on the leadership
this deal?
testing, ability testing and a strategic exercise.
capacity. More and more buyers consider this
Once this is done, we invest much effort in
to be as important as more traditional parts of
a
providing the participants with clear feedback
in terms of their strongholds and development
the due diligence phase, and we also see that
Leadership Assessment of the senior leaders in
the company. There are a number of purposes
areas and also brief the client on these issues.
Polaris
appointed
Amrop
to
conduct
related to such an assessment. One purpose
relates to the need to quickly identify business
critical individuals and positions as well as
TRANSACTION REPORT
ensure they are motivated and engaged going
Polaris takes stake in software company Configit
the strongholds and development areas. This
Polaris Private Equity (”Polaris”) has acquired 65% of the shares in fast-growing
knowledge is crucial in terms of identifying
Danish software company Configit A/S. The company has tripled its revenue in the
recent three-year period, and Polaris aims to continue Configit’s current growth
and globalisation.
The company’s former owners – IT and telecom entrepreneur Michael Moesgaard
forward. Another purpose is to understand
areas which need to be developed internally or
when external recruitment is required. Thirdly,
a Leadership Assessment process often uncovers
more overall organisational aspects, which can
Andersen and Configit’s founders, CEO Henrik Reif Andersen and Chief Technical
be improved. Finally, the process provides the
Officer Henrik Hulgaard – will continue as co-owners. Henrik Reif Andersen
new owners with a solid understanding of how to
will also continue as the company’s CEO. Configit is a leading global supplier
of business-critical software solutions for configuration of complex products
manufactured in a wide range of variants, for instance vehicles. Configit’s client
list thus includes, among others, Jaguar Land Rover, MAN Truck & Bus, Fiat, Case
New Holland and John Deere.
interact in the best possible way with the existing
management team.
What is the normal content of a Leadership
Additionally, other organisations involved in complex industrial equipment, for
from design, manufacturing and sales to maintenance of products. Configit has
140 clients, and 95% of revenue is generated outside of Denmark.
strategic challenges and use this to identify
the
senior leaders in the company, in order to identify business critical individuals and
competencies are unique from case to case,
and development areas.
Configit is Polaris’ first investment in a software company. Polaris has a clear
www.finance-monthly.com
the investment case prepared and the related
Polaris appointed Amrop Denmark to conduct a Leadership Assessment of the
positions, ensure motivation and engagement, and understand the strongholds
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We always start the process by looking into
critical
leadership
dimensions; an individual dimension focussing
on the individual leader, a team dimension
focussing on how the leadership team functions,
and finally a third looking at our results from an
organisational level.
competencies.
The
but when they have been identified, we tailor
the assessment process to fit these. Most often
leaders would go through two separate face-to
goal of investing in more software and technology companies and has therefore
face interviews, one focussing on the strategic,
established an internal team with this specific focus as well as an “ecosystem” of
commercial and functional competencies and the
industrial advisers.
other on the personal and social competencies.
Leadership Assessment as not only reasonable,
but also as an indication of professionalism from
the buyer’s side.
Do you experience a growing interest in
Leadership Assessment as part of M&A
processes?
What is the kind of feedback you get
from leaders who have been through the
process?
We definitively do. There is an increasing
acceptance and understanding of the value of
getting a thorough and objective assessment of
The best feedback, we get, relates to the
process being challenging, but also inspiring. A
Leadership Assessment process is intense and
leaders are taken out of their comfort zone; thus
becoming challenging for some. However, if they
Assessment process?
instance ABB, Siemens, Phillips and Vestas, use Configit’s configuration software
Generally, the client is briefed on three
the selling company perceives the request for
leaders and management teams, and that this
is a crucial element when preparing the 100 day
plan, as well as adjusting the initial investment
case. Our contribution helps speeding up the
process of creating the best possible leadership
are not up to this challenge, they are probably
team, which leads to a minimal loss in business
not ready for a private equity ownership. Also, as
momentum. The equity clock is ticking from day
we always ensure that the participant is provided
one, and conducting a Leadership Assessment
with feedback related to development areas, this
will have a direct impact on the return on equity.
is for almost all participants an inspiring element.
How often are you allowed to assess the
leaders prior to the acquisition?
We are not always able to do this, but there is
a growing acceptance and understanding of the
importance of providing potential buyers with
Website: amrop.dk
FINANCEMONTHLY
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