TA and Warburg Pincus acquire majority stake in Epassi Group from Bregal Milestone

The acquisition supports Epassi’s vision to become the leading digital, pan-European employee benefits provider. 

9 Aug 2023 - Funds advised by TA Associates (”TA”) and Warburg Pincus LLC (“Warburg Pincus”), two leading global private equity firms focused on growth investing, have acquired a majority stake in Epassi Group (”Epassi” or "the Company”) from majority shareholder Bregal Milestone, a leading technology growth private equity firm. As part of the transaction, Epassi’s founder Risto Virkkala will remain invested in the next stage of the Company’s growth strategy.   

Epassi, a market leader for digital employee benefit payments in the Nordics, serves approximately 10,000 employers in the region, enabling two million employees to redeem a comprehensive range of employee benefits through Epassi’s network of more than 51,000 merchants in Finland and Sweden. In 2023, Epassi expanded into the European market, adding more than 3,000 employers, 11 million employees and 11,000 merchants across Italy, the UK and Ireland to the Company’s platform.  

Under Bregal Milestone’s ownership, Epassi cemented its leadership position in the Nordics and established a strong foundation for future pan-European expansion, driven by the Company’s differentiated mobile-first digital offering and multi-sided network of corporates, merchants and consumers. Since 2019, Epassi has increased Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) ninefold, the number of customers fourfold and the number of Epassi employees fivefold. 

“Following our recent growth in the Nordics and expansion into the UK, Ireland and Italy, the investment from TA and Warburg Pincus comes at an opportune time as we look to accelerate growth. With the help of Bregal Milestone, we have already shown the potential that Epassi possesses, and we are ready to grow and further scale internationally. We believe this is a natural next step in our journey and are proud to welcome the support of TA and Warburg Pincus, two world-class growth investors, as we aim to expand into other business areas and markets,” says Pekka Rantala, CEO of Epassi. 

“Epassi is uniquely positioned at the intersection of employee benefits technology and payments, serving a three-sided network of employers, employees and merchants. Epassi’s platform is driving the continued shift from analogue to digital solutions and helping employers develop their increasingly important employee well-being and ESG offerings. We are thrilled to be supporting Epassi on its future growth journey, with a vision to expand its role as a pan-European leader in digital employee benefits solutions and partnering with the Company’s founder, Risto Virkkala, and management team as well as with TA,” said Adarsh Sarma, Managing Director, Issam Abedin, Principal, and Tarik-Timo Ghoniem, Vice President, at Warburg Pincus. 

“Epassi has established itself as a prominent, digital-first player in the employee benefits payments industry, showcasing a strong commitment to innovation and an understanding of evolving market needs. With a robust technology stack and a defensible market position in five countries, Epassi is well-positioned to expand its product portfolio and market presence across Europe, both organically and through M&A. We are excited to join Epassi on the next chapter of its journey and partner with Warburg Pincus on this acquisition," stated Naveen Wadhera, Managing Director, Max Cancre, Director, and Laurent Indekeu, Vice President, at TA. 

“We are very proud to have jointly built Epassi into one of the leading employee benefits disruptors in Europe, exponentially growing revenues and profitability since our initial investment in 2019.  Through our successful M&A activity and with the strong and dedicated support of our in-house value creation team Milestone Performance Partners, Epassi successfully expanded into five European markets, accelerated organic growth and improved margins. We were pleased to have worked with Pekka and Risto to build a talented leadership team and provide stewardship across several areas, including the Company’s go-to-market strategy, technology evolution, operational integration and ESG. We wish Epassi continued success in their next stage of growth,” said Cyrus Shey, Managing Partner, Rob Hetherington, Head of Milestone Performance Partners, and Saachi Oza, Principal at Bregal Milestone. 

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal counsel to Warburg Pincus and Goodwin acted as legal counsel to TA. J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor and White & Case acted as legal counsel to Bregal Milestone and Epassi. 

Media contacts:   

Epassi 
Pekka Rantala  
CEO, Epassi Group  
Pekka.rantala@epassi.com  
+358405051970 

TA 
Maggie Benoit 
Senior Manager, Communications 
mbenoit@ta.com  
+1 617-598-6685 

Warburg Pincus 
Jenna Ward 
Director, Marketing and Communications 
Jenna.ward@warburgpincus.com  
+44 7570 844338  

Bregal Milestone 
Jillian Hazelton  
Head of Marketing & Communications 
Jillian.hazelton@bregal.com   

About Epassi 
Epassi, founded in 2007 in Helsinki, is a market leader in the provision of employee benefits within the Nordics, Italy and the UK. The unique and scalable solution drives mobile tech and payment solutions to open up a world of health and well-being possibilities, combining all benefits in one user-friendly service.  

Epassi Group is Europe’s leading digital solution for employee benefits, with a reach of nearly 13 million users, over 13 500 employers, and more than 59 000 service providers. Epassi is a trailblazer fintech company in the Nordic countries and has been awarded by the Financial Times as one of the fastest growing companies in Europe in 2022 and 2023.  

Epassi – Boosting everyday well-being.   
www.epassi.com 

About TA 

TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $65 billion in capital to date and has over 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.  

About Warburg Pincus 

Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $83 billion in assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $112 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com.  

About Bregal Milestone 

Bregal Milestone is a leading technology growth private equity firm with c.€1.3 billion of capital raised since inception. The firm provides growth capital and strategic assistance to support market-leading technology companies. Bregal Milestone is part of Bregal Investments, a leading global investment platform with assets under management of over €16 billion. For more information, visit www.bregalmilestone.com or follow us on LinkedIn.