HGGC preps for sale of marketing tech provider Selligent

HGGC is gearing up to put marketing automation provider Selligent on the auction block, six sources familiar with the matter told PE Hub.

A process is expected to kick off in Q2; however, it may be pushed to Q3, some of the people said.

Credit Suisse has been selected to advise the company, the sources said.

Selligent, based in Brussels, Belgium, and San Jose, California, provides digital marketing automation technology and uses native AI and data analytics capabilities. The company works with more than 700 global brands across more than 30 countries in the retail, travel, automotive, publishing and financial services industries. Its clients include the likes of AllState, BNP Paribas Fortis, Opel and ING.

Selligent produces between $90 million and $110 million in revenue and is break-even from an earnings perspective, the sources said.

HGGC invested in Selligent in July 2015 out of Fund II, which closed on $1.3 billion in March 2015.

A few months later, the firm acquired StrongView, a provider of email and cross‐channel marketing solutions based in Redwood City, California, and merged it with Selligent.

The merger was aimed to expand Selligent’s footprint in the US, where StrongView had already established its presence and clientele. At that time, StrongView’s clients included brands such as Yahoo, Oriental Trading and Overstock.

In August 2017, Selligent brought in a new CEO, John Hernandez, the former chief operating officer and senior vice president of Service Cloud at Salesforce. Hernandez replaced Andre Lejeun, who co-founded Selligent in 1999.

HGGC, Selligent and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Action Item: Check out HGGC’s recent form ADV.