Exclusive-Belgium's Kpler Launches Minority Stake Sale Valuing Firm at up to $5 Billion, Sources Say

Kpler Begins Minority Stake Sale, Valuing Firm Near $5 Billion, Sources Say

Kpler Minority Stake Sale Attracts Major Investors

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Milana Vinn

Background and Sale Process

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Commodities data and analytics firm Kpler has launched a sale process for a large minority stake that could value the company at nearly $5 billion, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Private equity owners Insight Partners and Rothschild-owned Five Arrows are working with investment bank Evercore on the process and are expected to distribute sale materials imminently, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private. Reuters could not determine the exact size of the stake for sale. 

Investor Interest and Involvement

The sale is drawing interest from private equity firms, family offices and sovereign wealth funds, the sources said.

Investors including Warburg Pincus, Blackstone and Hg as well as sovereign funds GIC, Temasek and Mubadala have already begun preliminary exploratory work on the business, one of the sources said. Others include General Atlantic, the second source said. 

Responses from Stakeholders

Spokespeople for Kpler, Warburg Pincus, Blackstone, General Atlantic, Hg, GIC, Temasek and Mubadala declined to comment. Insight Partners, Five Arrows and Evercore did not respond to requests for comment. 

Five Arrows and Insight invested more than $200 million for a holding in Brussels-based Kpler in April 2022. The rest is held by co-founders François Cazor and Jean Maynier, who want to maintain control of the business, Reuters previously reported. A spokesperson for Cazor and Maynier declined to comment. 

Market Appetite and Kpler’s Growth

Demand for Insights into Opaque Markets

APPETITE FOR INSIGHTS INTO OPAQUE MARKETS

Kpler has expanded rapidly in recent years as traders, energy companies and governments seek insight into opaque commodity, energy and shipping markets. 

Business Model and Competitive Edge

Compared with many software firms whose business models have been disrupted by advances in generative artificial intelligence, investors view the company as well-protected due to its proprietary datasets and algorithmic modelling tools, the two people said. 

It combines satellite data, shipping intelligence and customs information to provide insights that are difficult to source elsewhere, they added. 

Market Volatility and Revenue

Market volatility and geopolitical conflict have also driven increased demand for Kpler’s services, the first source said. 

Kpler generates around $300 million in annual recurring revenue, the sources said. 

This year, it could be worth more than 10 times as much or between 3 billion euros and 4 billion euros ($3.55 billion to $4.73 billion) based on a valuation similar to TradingHub, which Nordic Capital acquired last month, one of the people said.

($1 = 0.8453 euros)

Reporting Credits

(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley in London and Milana Vinn in New York. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Barbara Lewis)