PE Deals

EQT, Hg and TA Associates-backed IFS to acquire Canada’s Poka

Poka is a Quebec City-based provider of a connected worker software platform for the manufacturing industry.

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  • Founded in 2014, Poka enables factory and field workers to be efficient across all aspects of their jobs, from training and development to troubleshooting
  • IFS is a Linköping, Sweden-based developer and deliverer of cloud enterprise software
  • EQT and TA Associates acquired IFS in 2020, with HG investing in 2022

IFS, a portfolio company of EQT, Hg and TA Associates, has agreed to acquire Poka, a Quebec City-based provider of a connected worker software platform for the manufacturing industry.

No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.

Founded in 2014 by Alexandre Leclerc and Antoine Bisson, Poka has customers in 55 countries, among them Nestlé, Tetra Pak, Mars, Bosch, RioTinto, Coty, Alcoa, Hitachi Energy and Mahle. The company’s platform enables factory and field workers to be efficient across all aspects of their jobs, from training and development to troubleshooting. This allow businesses to measure productivity across machinery and operators globally, providing an insight into profitability.

IFS is a Linköping, Sweden-based developer and deliverer of cloud enterprise software.

“The concept of connecting every single worker was historically overlooked as part of digital transformation journeys yet, giving workers the ability to get information whenever and wherever they are in the factory not only improves their experience, it is fundamental to building manufacturing agility something we understand very well at IFS,” said IFS CEO, Darren Roos, in a statement.

EQT Private Equity and TA Associates acquired IFS in 2020. Hg invested last year, buying portions of stakes held by EQT and TA.

EQT Private Equity invests in healthcare, technology, services, and industrial technology sectors. EQT is a global investment organization based in Stockholm, Sweden.

TA Associates is a growth equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, US.

Hg is an investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses. It has offices in London, Munich, New York, Paris and San Francisco.