‘Tariffs’ might become the word of the year in 2025 if the incoming US administration goes ahead with its plans to levy goods coming into the country – sparking concern for exporters in Europe and beyond. But none of the rhetoric so far has mentioned any tariffs on services – making private equity investment in European service providers with a global presence over the last year looking like a safe bet, whatever happens in the US.
PE Hub looked at some of the most popular service sub-sectors over 2024 involving European companies with a global footprint.
Management consultancy
Blackstone agreed in December to invest up to €250 million into Sia Partners to boost the company’s growth in the US and support M&A.
Founded in 1999, Sia is a management consulting company headquartered in Paris. It works in sectors such as energy, banking, consumer, luxury and retail, and TMT.
It marks the company’s first partnership with a financial investor since its inception.
Sia has achieved close to €500 million in revenue, 40 percent of which is in France and 30 percent in the US, according to a statement.
“Sia is a fast-growing leader in the space, benefiting from a differentiated service offering given their deep expertise across industry defining megatrends such as energy transition and AI,” said Lionel Assant, global co-chief investment officer at Blackstone.
Climate and sustainability consultancy
Leon Capital and Nuveen Private Equity Impact in October made a majority investment in Longevity Partners, a climate and sustainability consultancy for the real estate and infrastructure sectors.
Longevity’s product set includes green building certifications, energy audits, data reporting and management, and climate resilience strategies. The company has certified over $300 billion of real estate assets under management since its founding in 2015. It has offices in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Milan, Austin, Seattle and Tokyo.
“Longevity Partners is the leading global end-to-end sustainability services provider entirely specialized for the global real estate sector, with leading global market shares in green building certifications, loyal, blue-chip international client relationships, a global footprint, a track record for growth and innovation, and an ambitious founder and management team,” Jean-Christophe Napoléon Bonaparte, co-founder and managing partner at Leon Capital, told PE Hub.
That blue-chip client list includes AXA IM Alts, BlackRock, BNP Paribas, Hines, Principal and Leon’s fellow investor Nuveen.
The investment will aim to boost Longevity’s tech-enabled sustainability products and drive global expansion.
IT consultancy
Carlyle Group had an eye on US expansion when it agreed to acquire a 60 percent stake in Seidor in late August, Fernando Chueca, partner in Carlyle Europe Technology Partners’ investment advisory team, told PE Hub at the time.
Seidor provides IT and other services including consulting, implementation and maintenance across AI, Microsoft Edge, customer and employee experience, data and cloud, cybersecurity and ERP software.
“Seidor has a clear leader position around SAP,” Chueca said. “It is a platinum partner of SAP and there’s been good collaboration with SAP where it has encouraged Seidor to expand internationally, to serve its customers and to keep on consolidating.”
Barcelona-based Seidor has a “strong” practice in Spain, Latin America and in other emerging regions. Carlyle’s plan is to continue acquiring SAP players, targeting Western Europe, Latin America, Spain and potentially some in the US, home of Carlyle’s Washington, DC headquarters.
PE Hub expects these sub-sectors to bring in more private equity investment in 2025.
