By Emma-Victoria Farr
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Private equity firm Hg is weighing options, including a sale, for its German software business F24 next year, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
F24’s emergency notification software, which can be used by governments to alert citizens of a major incident, has seen rapid growth in recent months, and the company could be valued at up to one billion euros ($1.1 billion), two of the sources said.
Hg is also weighing only selling part of its majority stake in the process, which is likely to target other private equity firms, one of the sources said.
Deliberations are at an early stage and sale plans may not materialise if market conditions deteriorate, the sources said.
Hg, which has not disclosed the exact size of its stake in F24, declined to comment. F24 did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this year, F24 said it would work with telecom operator Telenet to continue to run the Belgian government’s BE-Alert warning system for the next six years.
Germany has also been testing its emergency alert system for major incidents – most recently in September – sending warning text messages to mobile phones across the country. The government has come under criticism for previous “warning days” where many alarms and sirens failed to sound.
Over the last three and half years since Hg bought its majority stake for an undisclosed amount, F24’s crisis management software has seen significant growth.
Back in 2020 it generated around 30 million euros in recurring revenue, and next year it expects to make revenue of around 70 million euros, one of the sources said.
Munich-based F24 provides software for emergency notification, crisis and incident management, and critical communications. It operates across 13 locations worldwide and has more than 5,500 customers, according to its website.
($1 = 0.9457 euros)
(Reporting by Emma-Victoria Farr Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Mark Potter)
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