KKR to acquire majority stake in German fintech heidelpay from AnaCap

heidelpay Group ("heidelpay”) and its majority shareholder AnaCap Financial Partners ("AnaCap”), a European financial services specialist investor, have today reached an agreement on the terms of an investment from KKR, a leading global investment firm. KKR will acquire a majority shareholding in the company, with Mirko Hüllemann, founder and CEO of heidelpay, and other key managers remaining as long-term shareholders.

Leading full-service payment provider

Founded in 2003, heidelpay is a leading full-service payment provider that offers a complete range of payment processing services to online and face-to-face merchants. heidelpay facilitates payment acceptance on behalf of merchants across various payment methods for e-commerce, m-commerce and at the physical point of sale. heidelpay currently serves more than 30,000 retailers and marketplace operators, focusing on SMEs and corporates.

The business operates in a European payments landscape underpinned by strong growth drivers, including an accelerating shift towards non-cash transactions and the continued growth of e-commerce.

Accelerating heidelpay’s growth journey

During AnaCap’s investment, heidelpay accelerated the development of its omni-channel platform, complete range of payment products, and proprietary technology. heidelpay can now play a key role in consolidating the fragmented European payments market. KKR is committed to supporting heidelpay in expanding its market share across the payments value chain, both organically and through strategic M&A, continuing the buy-and-build strategy initiated by AnaCap who completed seven bolt-ons. KKR will also support the company´s ambitious technology platform and product innovation roadmap.

Mirko Hüllemann, Founder and CEO of heidelpay, said: "We set out to become a market leader in omni-channel payment processing across the DACH region and with AnaCap’s powerful support we have reached our goal in a very short time frame. We are very excited to have attracted renowned global investor KKR to support us in the next stage of our growth journey. With its long-standing experience in financial services and technology, and its deep international network, we firmly believe that KKR will help us approaching larger customers and shaping the payment landscape globally. In my role as CEO and partner I’m looking forward to working with a fantastic management team in the next years.”

Daniel Knottenbelt, Member and Head of EMEA Financial Services at KKR, said: "We look forward to working together with Mirko and his highly experienced management team to help heidelpay continue to grow. We see enormous growth potential both organically and through M&A across Europe. We will draw on our deep sector knowledge, track record of working with founders, and our expertise through 20 years of investing in Germany to further shape heidelpay’s unique profile.”

Tassilo Arnhold, Managing Director at AnaCap, said: "heidelpay represents another successful digital value creation investment story for AnaCap. We wish Mirko and his team all the success for the next stage of their journey with KKR and we leave them in a far superior position to grow further in the DACH region and consolidate the European payments landscape.”

The offer is subject to approval by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. KKR will make this investment from its European Fund V. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

About heidelpay Group

Based in Heidelberg, the heidelpay Group is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative fintech service providers in Germany. The international payment processing specialist uses its own specially developed solutions such as payment via invoice, instalment payment, direct debit, direct payment and prepayment – and those of leading providers of credit cards or wallet solutions. As a payment institute authorised by the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and with over 16 years of experience in e-commerce and at the POS to its credit, the heidelpay Group allows companies of all sizes to effect worldwide payment transactions.

Founded in 2003, the full-service payment service provider covers the entire spectrum of electronic payment processing: from processing to acquiring, monitoring and risk management to receivables management. The fully scalable, modular solutions are used by 30,000 national and international customers. The various payment methods are provided for e-commerce, m-commerce and the stationary point of sale.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About AnaCap Financial Partners

AnaCap Financial Partners is a leading asset manager in the European financial services sector, investing across the vertical through complementary Private Equity and Credit strategies. Since 2005, AnaCap has raised €4.7bn in capital while the team has grown to more than 70 professionals across 6 offices including London, Luxembourg and New Delhi. Through its Private Equity and Credit strategies, AnaCap provides a complementary suite of solutions to sellers and management teams, supported by a deep track record of investing in financial services with over 70 primary investments completed across 15 jurisdictions. The AnaCap investment approach is supported by the firm’s proprietary digital platform, Minerva, which enables AnaCap to harness highly granular data and intelligence rapidly into actionable information.

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