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Nordic digital transformation consultancy Sofigate has made a private equity investment to accelerate its growth ambitions.

Sofigate was founded in Finland in 2003 and currently has a team of around 600 business and technology consultants working in offices in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. They currently generate sales of around 100 million euros. However, according to CEO Sami Karkkila’s plans, this number is set to explode to 500 million euros by 2025.

“We’ve quintupled in the last five years,” he said. “Maintaining a similar rate of growth requires both rapid organic growth and acquisitions. With the involvement of CapMan Growth and Mandatum Private Equity, we can make this vision a reality. ”

In addition to financing potential deals (the first targets should be on the radar), Sofigate will use the additional capital to strengthen its management team and professionalize its business operations. The company also plans to expand its international footprint without disclosing more details about the go-to-market markets.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed – however, financial sponsors are known to now own “a little less than a fifth of Sofigate,” Karkkila said. The rest belongs to LähiTapiola, the company’s founders, and “a significant number” of the company’s employees.

The deal comes at a time of growing private equity interest in the digital transformation scene amid the massive shift to digital working that was sparked by the global pandemic. According to a study by McKinsey & Company, Covid-19 has accelerated digital transformation by seven years and increased the demand for providers of digital consulting firms and technology providers.

In the Nordic countries, Sofigate has been one of the main beneficiaries of this pent-up demand, and according to investors Juha Mikkola (CapMan) and Alexander Antas (Mandatum), the company is well positioned to seize opportunities. We see great potential in the development of Sofigate’s business along the path taken by the company … Sofigate has a strong position in Finland and significant growth potential in other Nordic countries. “

In related news on consulting businesses in the Nordic countries, Deloitte took over Danish digital supply chain consultancy Syncronic last week, Finnish IT consultancy Fourkind was acquired by ThoughtWorks, and in the first quarter Swedish business consultancy Valcon partnered with First Consulting and the Investor Waterland teamed up to take over the Netherlands-based data science specialist Viqtor Davis.