Drake Star acts as Exclusive Financial Advisor to VEDA on the Majority Recapitalization with Investcorp

ALSDORF | LONDON | MUNICH | January 2, 2024 – VEDA GmbH ("VEDA"), a leading German core HR software provider, today announced the partnership investment by Investcorp Technology Partners ("Investcorp"), a leading European technology investor.

Drake Star acted as the exclusive financial advisor to VEDA and its shareholders on this transaction.

Being a pioneer in the German HR Tech market, VEDA offers a holistic end-to-end HR Software platform (“VEDA HORIZON”) that enables customers to utilize Payroll, Time & Security and People Management solutions within one integrated system. On the back of its vast experience in payroll processing, the company complements its product offering by best-in-class full-service payroll outsourcing. VEDA serves as a trusted partner for more than 600 customers across a wide range of industries, including rhenag, ODDO BHF, MAN, and Lufthansa.

Dr. Ralf Gräßler, CEO and Shareholder of VEDA, stated: "Exceeding expectations – that's in a nutshell what Ralf Hofmann and his team delivered. It was a great experience for me personally, for my team and the other shareholders to work on this successful transaction with Drake Star. Strong expertise in all aspects, 24/7-commitment, creativity and profound analytic skills led us finally to Investcorp as our new partner to fully raise our growth potential. We couldn’t be happier. And last but not least – it was a lot of fun riding this wave with the team."

Investcorp acquires a majority stake in VEDA from its shareholders. Managing shareholder Dr. Ralf Gräßler will retain a significant stake in the company, underlining his commitment to lead and develop the business alongside the new investor. Through the partnership with Investcorp, VEDA is perfectly positioned to enter into the next phase on its growth journey to become the number one HR Tech platform for medium-sized companies within the DACH region.

Georg Knoflach, Managing Director at Investcorp, added: "Investcorp Technology Partners is pleased to be investing in VEDA, a company that continues to have a leading position in the ca. €3 Billion DACH HR and payroll software / services market for SMEs. We were impressed by the quality of VEDA’s products and go-to-market strategy, and we see incredible opportunities to support the company as it helps more SMEs move their mission-critical HR services to the cloud. We look forward to partnering with CEO Ralf Gräßler and the entire VEDA team on this next phase for the company."

Ralf Philipp Hofmann, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Drake Star, commented: "We are delighted to have worked with Ralf Gräßler and the VEDA team on this HR Tech milestone transaction. VEDA has a massive footprint in the German HR Tech landscape, and with Investcorp, we found a high-profile partner with profound expertise in the HR tech space who can perfectly support VEDA’s future growth."

Drake Star Team: Ralf Philipp Hofmann, Maximilian von Bodman, Julian Wolf, Pablo Lundershausen, Jonas Kerkow

Inquiries
For further inquiries, please contact:
Ralf Philipp Hofmann 
ralf.hofmann@drakestar.com, +49 173 393 0070

About VEDA GmbH
For more than four decades VEDA has been developing software solutions for the digitalization of the entire employee life cycle. Digital HR management includes solutions for recruiting, onboarding, personnel management, talent management, learning & development, payroll, workforce scheduling and time & security. Headquartered in Germany, the company has around 170 employees serving more than 1,200 customers, including MAN and Lufthansa, as well as numerous medium-sized companies. In 2023, VEDA achieved a turnover of around €20 million.

For more information: www.veda.net

About Investcorp 
Investcorp is a global investment manager, specializing in alternative investments across private equity, real estate, credit, absolute return strategies, GP stakes, infrastructure, and insurance asset management. Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has focused on generating attractive returns for its clients while creating long-term value in its investee companies and for its shareholders as a prudent and responsible investor. Investcorp has today 14 offices across the US, Europe, GCC and Asia, including India, China, Japan, and Singapore. Currently, Investcorp Group has over $48 billion in total AUM, including assets managed by third party managers, and employs approximately 500 people from 50 nationalities globally across its offices.

For more information: www.investcorp.com

About Drake Star 
Drake Star is an award-winning global tech investment bank that has completed over 450 transactions since 2003. The Drake Star team of 100 senior professionals across offices in New York, London, Paris, Munich, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Dubai* focuses on mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance services worldwide in Consumer & Retail Technology, Digital Media, Digital Services, FinTech, HR Tech, Industrial Tech, Mobility & Sustainability and Software/SaaS.

Drake Star is the marketing name for the global investment bank Drake Star Partners Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates. In the USA, all securities are transacted through Drake Star Securities LLC. In the USA, Drake Star Securities LLC is regulated by FINRA and is a member of SIPC. Drake Star UK Limited (FRN 942020) is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Ltd (FRN582160) which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. © 2024 Drake Star Partners Limited.

For more information, visit www.drakestar.com.

*Partner Office