Kennet Partners sees 4.4x return selling stake in Dext

Kennet Partners, a European technology growth equity investor, has agreed to sell its stake in Dext (formerly ReceiptBank), a digital, multi-product platform for accountants and bookkeepers, to Hg, a leading global software and services investor. The sale will provide Kennet with a 4.4 times return on its investment.

Kennet was the first institutional investor in Dext and acquired its stake in the company in 2016. The sale of Kennet’s stake in Dext comes after a record-breaking financial quarter following its rebrand (from Receiptbank) earlier this year.

Over the last five years, funding from Kennet and subsequent investors including Insight Ventures, has helped Dext to build a world class management team, to accelerate its capabilities to support customers in their digitisation of accounts and book-keeping, and to expand internationally. Dext now supports over one million users in 242 countries and has digitised over 408 million pieces of paper. The company currently processes millions of financial documents per week.

Hillel Zidel, Managing Director, Kennet Partners, says: “As the first institutional investors in Dext back in 2016, we saw the potential and opportunity to build a market leading position in the bookkeeping automation category. Dext’s capital efficiency, business model, strong foundations and ethos is exactly in line with Kennet’s investment strategy. We wish Adrian and the team the best of luck on the next stage of what will continue to be a great journey.”

Adrian Blair, CEO, Dext, says: “As an original backer of Dext, Kennet have played a key part in our growth to over 1 million users. Our record-breaking start to 2021 is testament to the stewardship that Kennet and our investors have provided.”

The announcement follows Kennet’s recent successful exit from Nuxeo which saw Kennet realise more than five-times return on its investment.

 Source: Private Equity Wire