Houlihan Lokey Advises NetRom

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that NetRom Software (NetRom), a leading cloud-first, digital transformation, and software engineering firm in the Benelux region, and a portfolio company of Ice Lake Capital Management (IceLake), has been acquired by Investcorp Technology Partners (ITP). NetRom’s founders, management team, and IceLake will continue to remain shareholders in the business alongside ITP.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Utrecht, the Netherlands, NetRom provides business-critical software engineering solutions, development support, and adjacent services to a portfolio of diversified and blue-chip customers in Western Europe and North America, including for example VodafoneZiggo, Transdev, and LeasePlan. Over the past 23 years, NetRom built a deep and wide knowledge base in software product development, which it makes accessible to customers in long-term collaborations based on true co-creation. NetRom today has a staff of approximately 500 engineers in two delivery centres in Craiova and Timisoara, Romania, and sales offices in Utrecht and Arnhem, the Netherlands. NetRom’s long-term commitments to its customers and employees are key elements of its success, resulting in a strong track record of profitable growth, having more than doubled its revenues in the past five years.

ITP’s investment is expected to accelerate NetRom’s ambitious growth plans. ITP expects to continue to invest in strengthening its delivery platform, as well as further expanding existing and new service areas, industry verticals, and geographies.

ITP has established a market-leading position of investing in lower-middle-market technology companies with a specific focus on software, data/analytics, cybersecurity, and fintech. The investment in NetRom represents the third investment from ITP’s global fund, Investcorp Technology Partners V, following its investments in HWG (cybersecurity) and Zift Solutions (software).

IceLake, founded in 2018 and based in Amsterdam, is a European private equity fund with a focus on investing in exceptional companies active in business services, software, and healthcare verticals. IceLake was founded by private equity professionals and entrepreneurs who have extensive experience with building and growing companies.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive M&A advisor to NetRom and IceLake and assisted in marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on their behalf. This transaction highlights Houlihan Lokey’s unique value proposition of combining local transaction capabilities in the Benelux region with dedicated sector expertise within the IT services vertical.