- Agreement values GardaWorld at C$13.5bn Enterprise Value
- GardaWorld has transformed under BC Partners’ ownership into a global leader in security services
- Maintains BC Partners’ momentum in realisations, generating over €11bn in monetisations to investors over the past 18 months
BC Partners, a leading international investment firm, today announces that it has entered into an agreement to sell the majority of its interest in Garda World Security Corporation (‘GardaWorld’).
The transaction, which values GardaWorld at C$13.5bn, will see Founder, Chairman, President and CEO Stephan Crétier, together with select members of Management, acquire approximately 70% of GardaWorld while funds advised by HPS Investment Partners (“HPS Partners”), leading a group of sophisticated minority investors, will hold the remaining equity interest. BC Partners will also continue to hold a minority interest.
GardaWorld, founded in 1995, has established itself as a global leader in the security industry, spanning subsidiaries including GardaWorld Security, Crisis24, and ECAMSECURE and Sesami. The business, which covers security services, AI-enabled security technologies, integrated risk management and cash automation solutions serves over 132,000 professionals across North America, EMEA and APAC.
BC Partners acquired a majority stake in GardaWorld in 2019 through a bilateral transaction which valued the company at C$5.2bn, leveraging its extensive experience and expertise in both the region and sector to position itself as the partner of choice. The transaction was the largest private buyout in Canadian history at the time. Under BC Partners’ ownership, GardaWorld has delivered strong organic growth supported by extensive M&A activity (over 25 strategic and financially accretive transactions since 2019), increasing profit margins from c.14% to c.17% and doubling profitability to over C$1bn in operating profit. This performance underlines BC Partners’ focus on helping to build high-performing businesses in resilient, defensive growth sectors, unlocking value in the companies it works with.
Paolo Notarnicola, Partner and Co-Head of Services at BC Partners said: “Our partnership with GardaWorld is an excellent example of what we would consider a definitive ‘BC deal’, partnering with an impressive entrepreneur to help transform and grow a high-potential business in a defensive growth sector. Since partnering with GardaWorld in 2019, we have seen the company go from strength to strength, with operating profit more than doubling to over C$1bn. In addition, we have worked with management to create four global champions under one roof, with market leaderships in security services, AI-enabled security technologies, integrated risk management and cash automation solutions. We are pleased with today’s announcement which enables a visionary founder in Stephan to take control of the company, and we remain fully committed to the company’s future success as a minority investor.”
Stephan Crétier, Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of GardaWorld said: “In an increasingly complex world, I have discovered that prominent organizations aspire to partner with a vetted entrepreneurial success story. GardaWorld is more than one entrepreneur. It is a group of truly aligned like-minded leaders committed to doing what is best for clients, employees, and stakeholders. I am humbled by the professionalism and dedication of my international group of colleagues and the unique DNA we have developed. This is what I call a winning team. We have come a long way since our modest beginnings when I started this company with a C$25,000-second mortgage on my home almost 30 years ago. I thank BC Partners for their partnership over the last five years and welcome HPS Partners’ expanded investment and our group of minority investors to GardaWorld as we continue our winning journey. Their success over the last few years has made them a global powerhouse, and we are honoured that they recognize our value as a performance-driven team by investing in our company.”
In the past 18 months, BC Partners has successfully generated over €11bn in proceeds from several monetisations, underlining the high quality of businesses and exit optionality which underpins BC Partners’ portfolio. These include the full exit of Forno d’Asolo Group, IMA Industria Automatiche SpA and Presidio as well as the recent, successful listing of Springer Nature on the Frankfurt Exchange.
Kirkland & Ellis and Osler acted as lead legal counsel to BC Partners, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Langlois Lawyers acting as legal counsel to GardaWorld, Stephan Crétier and the senior management of GardaWorld. Latham & Watkins acted as lead legal counsel to HPS Partners.
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close by Q1 2025.
About BC Partners BC Partners is a leading investment firm with circa €40 billion in assets under management across private equity, private debt, and real estate strategies. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role for over three decades in developing the European buy-out market. Today, BC Partners’ integrated transatlantic investment teams work from offices in Europe and North America and are aligned across our four core sectors: TMT, Healthcare, Services & Industrials, and Food. Since its foundation, BC Partners has completed over 128 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of over €160 billion and is currently investing its eleventh private equity buyout fund. For further information, please visit https://www.bcpartners.com/
About GardaWorld GardaWorld is an entrepreneurial-driven corporation that builds global champions in security services, AI-enabled security technologies, integrated risk management and cash automation solutions, employing more than 132,000 highly skilled and dedicated professionals across the globe. Driven by a relentless entrepreneurial culture and core values of integrity, vigilance, trust and respect, GardaWorld’s global champions offer sophisticated, tailored security and technology solutions through high-touch partnerships and consistently superior service delivery. With a deep understanding that security is critical to the organizational resilience of business operations and the safety of communities, GardaWorld is committed to impeccable governance, professional care and the well-being of everyone. Thanks to a well-earned reputation, GardaWorld businesses are long-standing security partners of choice to some of the most prominent brands, influential individuals, Fortune 500 corporations and governments. For more information, visit gardaworld.com.
About HPS Investment Partners HPS Investment Partners, LLC is a leading global, credit-focused alternative investment firm that seeks to provide creative capital solutions and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients. We manage various strategies across the capital structure, including privately negotiated senior debt; privately negotiated junior capital solutions in debt, preferred and equity formats; liquid credit including syndicated leveraged loans, collateralized loan obligations and high yield bonds; asset-based finance and real estate. The scale and breadth of our platform offers the flexibility to invest in companies large and small, through standard or customized solutions. At our core, we share common thread of intellectual rigor and discipline that enables us to create value for our clients, who have entrusted us with approximately $114 billion of assets under management as of April 2024. For more information, please visit hpspartners.com.
