Bain Capital, LP and Peter J. ter Maaten Agree to Acquire Minority Stake in HSO Group B.V. for $1.0 Billion

Bain Capital and Peter J. ter Maaten have agreed to acquire a minority stake in HSO Group for an estimated $1 billion. Carlyle Europe Technology Partners and The Carlyle Group are selling their stake, with Bain Capital investing $1 billion via its European Private Equity fund. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

Bain Capital and Peter J. ter Maaten have agreed to acquire a minority stake in HSO Group B.V. for an estimated $1 billion. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, involves Carlyle Europe Technology Partners III, L.P. and The Carlyle Group Inc. (NasdaqGS:CG) selling their stake to Bain Capital, which will invest $1 billion via its European Private Equity fund [2].

HSO Group B.V., a leading independent Microsoft Dynamics services partner, has been a member of Microsoft’s elite Inner Circle for 19 consecutive years. The company supports clients across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific with end-to-end services across the Microsoft product suite, including Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure, Data, and AI [1].

Christophe Jacobs van Merlen, Partner at Bain Capital, commented on the acquisition, highlighting HSO’s position at the forefront of cloud migration and AI-led automation. He stated, "HSO sits at the forefront of two secular trends reshaping enterprise technology: cloud migration and AI-led automation. Its exceptional relationship with Microsoft, deep vertical expertise, and global delivery capabilities differentiate it as the preeminent independent Microsoft Dynamics services partner today. We look forward to partnering with Peter and the team to help accelerate HSO’s global expansion and continuing to build-out its capabilities as Microsoft’s go-to partner for AI transformation" [1].

Peter J. ter Maaten, founder & CEO of HSO, expressed his gratitude for Carlyle's support in HSO’s growth and global expansion since 2019. He added, "We are excited to continue our momentum with Bain Capital, a long-term partner that also supports our vision and shares our ambition to build the world’s leading Microsoft services partner” [1].

Michael Wand, Head of Europe Private Equity at Carlyle, and Thibault Thevissen, Principal on the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”) investment advisory team, praised the collaborative effort that transformed HSO into a top-two Microsoft Dynamics Partner globally. They stated, "This is what CETP does best, partnering with founders and managers of aspirational European B2B Tech businesses and turning them into global leaders. We are very proud to have partnered with Peter and the HSO team over the past six years through what has been a remarkable collaborative effort, and we believe the business will continue to thrive in the future" [1].

Charles Lamanna, CVP, Business & Industry Copilot at Microsoft and HSO Executive Sponsor, emphasized the importance of HSO’s role in driving AI transformation. He said, "Agentic AI is transforming the way that companies operate, and Dynamics 365 and Business Applications sit front and center to this at Microsoft. We have always been a partner-led business, but in times like this rely even more on our leading partners to drive change in our customers’ organizations. HSO has been on the journey with us for over 20 years and today sits among our strongest partners globally with an exceptional level of trust and mutual respect between our teams. This trust will be critical as everyone reimagines their business with AI. We are very excited to see them embark on this next stage of growth" [1].

References:
[1] https://www.hso.com/news/bain-capital-invests-in-hso
[2] https://www.marketscreener.com/news/bain-capital-lp-and-peter-j-ter-maaten-agreed-to-acquire-an-unknown-minority-stake-in-hso-group-b-ce7c51dbd08ef621