Ergon Capital has acquired TMC from Gilde Buy Out Partners

CFI Netherlands is pleased to announce that it acted as the exclusive corporate finance advisor to Ergon Capital Partners IV SCSP, represented by Ergon Capital Management (“Ergon Capital”), in the acquisition of Time Acquisition B.V. (“TMC” or the ”Company”) from Gilde Buy Out Fund IV (“Gilde Buy Out”), founders, and other shareholders.

Founded in 2000, TMC developed a leading position in providing technical and R&D expertise in the Dutch market. Over the last five years, TMC replicated this model abroad by successfully entering the Belgian market and opening offices in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, UAE, Canada and the USA. Simultaneously, TMC expanded the technical niches in which it operates. TMC is active in a growing industry that benefits from solid underlying fundamentals such as the fast pace of technological innovation that is disrupting a wide range of industries and shortage of engineers on the job market. The company operates through a differentiating “Employeneurship” model to attract and retain best-in-class talents, and to combine technical expertise with entrepreneurship. In the coming years, TMC has the ambition to continue growing its business in the Netherlands and Belgium, while increasingly expanding its footprint to serve its international client base and partner with new high-tech customers.

Ergon Capital is a mid-market investment company which provides “patient and friendly capital” to families, entrepreneurs and management teams. The firm invests in companies that are based in the Benelux, France, Germany, Italy and Iberia, that have a leading and sustainable position in niche markets. Ergon Capital was founded in 2005 and recently announced the final closing of Ergon Capital Partners IV SCSP, the new owner of TMC, at over EUR 580 million. All existing investors successfully re-upped into the fund alongside Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (“GBL”), a renowned Belgian listed family-controlled holding, who remained as cornerstone investor. Ergon Capital focuses on making disciplined, responsible and discreet value investments with a long-term horizon to create value through professionalisation, operational improvement and growth acceleration.

Mr Emmanuel Mottrie (CEO of TMC): “In Ergon we found an excellent partner that can support our international growth plans and shares the same values. Together with our country CEOs and ~1,000 “Employeneurs” worldwide, we will reinforce the company’s culture and we will strive for sustained future growth”.

Mr Pieter Lambrecht (Partner at Ergon Capital): “Together with CFI, we have been tracking the international technical consulting sector already for some years, which sparked our interest in TMC. We are excited that TMC is now part of our portfolio and we are impressed by TMC’s strong track record and clear vision based on the unique model developed by Thijs Manders. We look forward to support the whole TMC team, from Eindhoven to New York, in realising its ambition.”

As exclusive corporate finance advisor, CFI introduced the TMC opportunity to Ergon Capital already in 2017. This subsequently led to negotiations that ultimately resulted in a successful transaction closed on 20 June 2019.