(Newswire.net — December 8, 2019) — HoriZen Capital, an M&A advisory and private equity company, acquires and grows SaaS companies globally with the backing of a network of investors and entrepreneurs.
HoriZen Capital, M&A group and global private equity focused on small-cap digital assets in the technology and software space, is proud to announce it is officially in operation as of the summer of 2019. The group is a proud member of Private Equity International, Mergers Club, and Axial.
HoriZen Capital was founded by Akeel Jabber, former partner and operations director at Wired Investors. There, Akeel specialised in growth marketing strategy and business operations with a strong belief that the underserved smaller sized SAAS market has huge potential for growth.
Explaining the name behind his new venture, Akeel states: “HoriZen combines Horizon and Zen – the function and balance of how we approach any business, in which we always maintain and make decisions for the long term horizon and opportunities around it but maintaining our presence. Zen symbolises our confidence that we can make an immediate impact on the bottom line as well.”
Backed by a network of investors, made up of successful entrepreneurs who understand the group’s businesses, HNWI’s, bankers and family offices, the HoriZen Capital M&A team is dedicated to sourcing online software businesses with high growth potential.
Of HoriZen’s investors, Akeel says: “We pick and choose investors who work with us to make sure they’re a good fit and believe in the long term mission of HoriZen. They understand the potential of investing in online businesses and rely on our operational expertise to do so. The fact that we have over $10 MM in commitments to invest alongside us when we present them the right opportunity shows the massive opportunity we have in front of us and trust we’ve established.”
HoriZen’s business model strongly differs from traditional VC. HoriZen’s team invests only in companies that are profitable, generating below $5 MM in ARR and have generated revenue over at least 3 years. HoriZen invests along with its network of investors, acquires a majority stake in the SAAS businesses, and leverages synergies with its existing portfolio and its team knowledge in digital strategy and operation to deliver growth and outstanding returns to all shareholders. Its philosophy is to grow with its partnerships by matching smart capital with remarkable businesses.
“We are well aware through experience that building a successful company is a lot of hard work, doubt, sweat, and tears,” says Akeel on acquiring and growing HoriZen’s businesses. “We strongly believe that we offer an attractive opportunity for founders by enabling them to cash out and reap the rewards of what they’ve built, but also by offering them the opportunity to retain skin in the game and benefit from the upside of the company we are going to work hard to develop. We always propose a win-win situation for all partners so everyone feels they walked away with a great deal.”
The HoriZen team is looking to invest circa $10 MM per year in promising businesses but is more focused on quality companies instead of meeting AUM targets – which is typical of other PE firms.
“Regarding our valuation process, we are very much in line with the standard market best practices. We are not in the business of buying overvalued, super-high growth tech companies that are solely focused on top-line growth and still highly unprofitable,” explains Akeel. “We generally recommend our partners to have a look at this article explaining valuations of SaaS written by Thomas Smale, which summarises our approach. We’re always closely following the valuation trends on the market to stay up to date and provide fair offers.”
HoriZen Capital also acts as an M&A advisor, capital advisory service, and digital marketing consultancy – the same services they apply to the assets they acquire.
“Many entrepreneurs we speak to are interested in what we’re doing. They may not be ready to sell but want the same growth strategies applied to their business. We thought it would make sense to offer the same services we use to develop the companies in our portfolio. By working with us as a client, they can tap into our network of engineers and digital experts who are great with the technicity of digital growth but also understand their business and have track records of successfully grow internet businesses,”
He continues: “This also helps us build a long term relationship with the founders while motivating them to push up the performance and potentially sell to us in the future at a higher valuation.”
Anyone looking to buy or sell a SaaS business, or interested in investment opportunities, can get in touch with HoriZen by filling in their website form or sending an email via the address below.