Nordhaven advised Sonat, a Norwegian IT services group, in the majority sale to VIA equity

6 june 2023

The existing shareholders of Sonat have decided to further accelerate the growth of Sonat, with VIA equity joining as the new majority shareholder. As part of the transaction all existing shareholders will reinvest in a large minority stake alongside VIA equity.

Founded in 2012, Sonat offers IT consulting and digital design services through the brands Sonat Consulting, These Ways and FIGMENT. Sonat Consulting offers traditional IT consulting services such as system architecture, front-end and back-end development, machine learning and data science, whereas These Ways is the Group’s digital strategy and design studio. Lastly, Sonat FIGMENT is the Group’s new initiative within the low code/no code vertical. The three companies leverage each other’s expertise and operate as one Group.

Through the years, Sonat has built a strong corporate culture centered around senior digitalization and design specialists. The Group is interacting with blue chip clients in critical digitalization projects from design phase all the way to implementation. The journey has been built organically since inception, with the Group being owned by its employees. Now, the owners of Sonat are looking forward to the next phase of growth together with VIA equity.

Together, VIA and Sonat plan to create a broader presence in Norway through both organic and in-organic growth initiatives. This includes, but is not limited to, opening of new offices across Norway, introducing new service verticals in key digitalization areas and seeking opportunities for M&A with similar IT consultancies with senior expertise.

“We are very impressed by Sonat’s journey and proud to have been chosen by Jonny Klemetsen and all the amazing people of Sonat to become their future partner for continued growth.”, says Daniel Hallberg, Investment Responsible at VIA equity.

“We are very excited about our new partnership with VIA equity. VIA has really proven to understand our business model and the fundamental driving forces underpinning a successful IT consulting firm. In this new constellation we can continue to build on the strong DNA of Sonat and its people and have a strong sparring partner to further accelerate growth and develop our platform.”, says Jonny Klemetsen, Co-founder and CEO of Sonat.

Closing of the transaction is expected during Q2 2023 subject to customary conditions being fulfilled.

About Sonat

Sonat is an IT consulting and design services firm with ca. 110 FTEs headquartered in Bergen, Norway with an additional office in Oslo. Through the companies Sonat Consulting, These Ways and FIGMENT, the group offers services within Cloud back-end architecture, AR/VR front-end visualization, Data science, Machine learning, Innovation design as well as Low code/No code. Sonat has built a strong corporate DNA centered around senior specialists in digitalization and design.

About VIA equity

VIA equity is a leading Northern European private equity firm with a successful history of building and transforming companies into leading national and international players. VIA equity A/S manages four funds, where the most recent one alone has EUR 175m in committed capital from established international investors. VIA equity invests in successful companies within software and IT-services.

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