iBabs, based in the Netherlands, provides an efficient and secured board portal solution to close to 1,000 companies and public organisations with more than 77,000 users as of June 2017. The company reported a sustained revenue CAGR of 36% since 2014, generating €5.9 million revenue in 2016 and an EBITDA of €3.8 million (64% margin). In H1 2017, revenues grew by 29% compared to H1 2016.

The acquisition of iBabs marks the achievement of a significant milestone in the deployment of the Agility for Growth strategy announced in May 2016, particularly in the development of Euronext’s Corporate Services franchise. This transaction strengthens Euronext’s value proposition to listed companies while targeting a broader audience of private companies and public institutions. iBabs’ solutions will support governance, workflow management, efficient decision making processes and secured collaboration at board level and more generally across management teams. These solutions will be integrated into the Euronext Corporate Services offering, alongside existing services such as Euronext’s next-generation webcasting platform, investor relationship management tool and tailor-made advisory services. The founding management team of iBabs will remain in place, continuing to grow the business while benefiting from Euronext’s reach and expertise with listed companies.

The use of board portal services is expected to grow significantly over the coming years. With the acquisition of iBabs, Euronext will further accelerate its growth ambition profile while at the same time addressing the growing need of organisations for more streamlined and secure governance.
Fully consistent with Euronext’s disciplined M&A policy, this transaction will be immediately accretive to the earnings with a return on capital employed above Euronext’s cost of capital in the first full year, before taking into account any synergies. The transaction is funded through existing debt facilities.

Stéphane Boujnah, Chairman and CEO of the Managing Board of Euronext NV, commented: “The acquisition of iBabs will enable organisations, both listed and non-listed, private and public, to run more efficiently thanks to this fully digital solution. This acquisition reinforces our commitment to making corporates’ life easier, safer and more productive. It also demonstrates our commitment to deliver growth and profitability to shareholders through a strict M&A discipline. The entrepreneurial spirit and commercial drive of the iBabs team coupled with the concrete response its services provide to day-to-day corporate needs, make us extremely confident in our ability to further roll out the iBabs offering throughout all Euronext markets.”

“We are very pleased to join Euronext today”, Paul Neefjes, CEO of iBabs, added. “We want to make meetings and governance more efficient for the largest number of organisations, and together with Euronext we aim to develop a true pan-European business. Having become the leading player for board portal solutions in the Netherlands, Euronext’s support will enable us to broaden and accelerate our development.”