Houlihan Lokey Advises Ambienta

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Ambienta, a leading private equity firm particularly focused on sustainability investments, has acquired a majority stake in The Rent Company, a market-leading provider of educational laptop and technology devices through a device-as-a-service offering to students. Ambienta will hold a majority stake in the company alongside the founder and management. The deal completed end of December 2023 and terms are undisclosed.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Den Bosch, Netherlands, The Rent Company has pioneered in providing students with affordable access to a digital education through its DaaS offering. The company has scaled to an international platform with a market-leading position in the Netherlands and established a strong presence in Belgium and the United Kingdom through both organic growth and strategic M&A. The Rent Company is highly regarded for its high-quality service, reliability, and efficient delivery. The company operates with about 300 full-time employees across 10 locations and serves approximately 700 school partners.

The European education-focused market for serviced laptops and technology devices is sizeable and is supported by a number of positive growth drivers, including increasing demand for and adoption of digital education, positive regulations, and governmental support. The ongoing transition to digital education is driving the uptake of one-on-one device schemes, where every child has their own device, which they can access in the classroom and at home for learning. Schools in different regions across Europe are at varying stages of adoption, and The Rent Company is well-positioned to capitalise on increasing penetration.

Ambienta is a European environmental sustainability investor across private equity, public market, and private credit. Operating out of Milan, London, Paris, and Munich, Ambienta manages more than €3 billion in assets with a focus on investing in private and public companies driven by environmental megatrends and whose products or services improve resource efficiency or pollution control.

Ambienta's partnership with The Rent Company will enable the management team to pursue a combination of organic and inorganic growth initiatives. Importantly, Ambienta's established United Kingdom presence will be a strong driver towards elevating The Rent Company's position in the UK market and, more broadly, towards achieving its strategic vision of creating a pan-European DaaS market leader within education, making digital education accessible to every student.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the exclusive M&A and financing advisor to Ambienta on its acquisition of The Rent Company and assisted in structuring and negotiating the transaction, as well as providing debt advisory services that allowed Ambienta to raise the desired debt capital structure. The close collaboration between the Circular Business and Capital Markets teams facilitated a strong outcome for both Ambienta and The Rent Company. This transaction marks another essential milestone in Houlihan Lokey's circular tech expertise, strengthening its strong positioning as a leading M&A advisor in the space.