TA Associates and Warburg Pincus take majority stake in Epassi Group

Funds steered by TA Associates and Warburg Pincus, global titans in growth-oriented private equity, have clinched a majority stake in Epassi Group, a luminary in digital employee benefit payments. The acquisition sees the transition of majority ownership from Bregal Milestone, another leading tech-centric private equity institution. Complementing this transaction, Risto Virkkala, the original architect behind Epassi, has pledged his continued investment, backing the future growth blueprint of the company.

Deep Dive into Epassi’s Market Dominance

Boasting a primacy in the Nordics, Epassi serves a broad clientele, encompassing around 10,000 employers. This facilitates a massive two million employees to avail a myriad of employee benefits through a vast Epassi merchant network in Finland and Sweden. 2023 witnessed Epassi’s ambitious foray into the European arena, assimilating 3,000+ employers and an impressive 11 million employees across Italy, the UK, and Ireland.

Originating in 2007 from Helsinki, Epassi has emerged as a front-runner in delivering employee benefits in the Nordics and other European territories. Harnessing mobile tech and avant-garde payment solutions, it offers an amalgamated, user-friendly service catering to health and well-being.

Epassi’s Unparalleled Growth & Achievements

The group’s magnified reach covers nearly 13 million users, weaving in over 13,500 employers and an impressive 59,000+ service providers. Their innovation in fintech, particularly in Nordic nations, has been acknowledged with accolades from Financial Times in 2022 and 2023. Bregal Milestone’s tenure as the owner fortified Epassi’s leadership in the Nordics while laying the groundwork for pan-European expansion. Epassi has showcased remarkable growth metrics since 2019 in terms of Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), customer base, and workforce strength.

Words from the Leadership

CEO of Epassi, Pekka Rantala, expressed optimism regarding the timely investment by TA Associates and Warburg Pincus. He acknowledged Bregal Milestone’s role in unveiling Epassi’s potential and expressed readiness for further global scaling. Epassi’s strategic positioning at the crossroads of employee benefits technology and payments drew appreciation from Warburg Pincus’s leadership team, who expressed their enthusiasm to support the company’s future endeavors.

However, the specific details of this pivotal transaction remain undisclosed, with closing being subject to standard conditions. Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin, J.P. Morgan, and White & Case played instrumental roles in providing legal and financial counsel during the transition.