London, 27th March 2024 – PX3 Partners (“PX3”), the London headquartered private equity firm, announces today that it has acquired Com Laude Group Limited (“Com Laude” or the “Company”), a global leader in internet domain name management and online brand protection, from its founders Nick Wood and Lorna Gradden and Vespa Capital, in partnership with the Company’s management team. The transaction is another investment from PX3’s inaugural fund and draws on its transatlantic reach and global DNA, while leveraging the firm’s proven ability to transact with entrepreneurs.
Headquartered in the UK, Com Laude is a tech-enabled business services company that manages internet domain name portfolios, monitors digital brand infringement, and ensures secure online brand presence for large corporates. The Company provides mission-critical internet domain name services to many of the world’s foremost branded companies, essential to the smooth functioning of their internet presence and infrastructure.
PX3’s investment in Com Laude aligns closely with the three pillars of its investment strategy. By helping large corporates grow and maintain the security of their internet presence and protect their intellectual property, the Company benefits from three of the transformative themes that PX3 seeks to underwrite, namely Re-Invent Living, Net Citizenship, and Compete Smarter. Furthermore, it operates in the data and specialised corporate services segments of business services, two of PX3’s areas of focus. Finally, Com Laude possesses the strong business fundamentals that PX3 exclusively invests behind.
PX3 will employ its Connected AccelerationTM value creation model to further institutionalise the Company and pursue an ambitious growth strategy driven by enhancement of its sales capabilities, investment in new services, further internationalisation, and add-on acquisitions. Com Laude will benefit from PX3’s global network of deep relationships and its expertise in helping businesses grow internationally across Europe, North America, and Asia.
“Com Laude’s management team has built a global leader in its market, providing mission-critical internet domain name services and delivering outstanding best-in-class customer service, underpinned by the Company’s deep domain knowledge and strong technology platform,” the Managing Partners of PX3 said. “We are excited to partner with Com Laude’s management team and support the acceleration of the Company’s growth. The acquisition perfectly aligns with our investment strategy, our situational differentiation, and our commitment to invest in high-quality businesses with passionate management teams and significant transformational growth potential.”
Glenn Hayward, Chief Executive Officer of Com Laude, remarked: “Com Laude is positioned strongly for the next phase of its growth. All of our business lines are growing and our industry is poised for a step-change opportunity presented by the next round of new top-level domains, an area of considerable strength for Com Laude. We look forward to leveraging PX3’s deep network of international relationships and experience in helping companies grow and internationalise, with a view towards accelerating the investment in and growth of Com Laude.”
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PX3 enlisted the support of Aon as benefits, insurance, and pension advisor; Castlegreen Partners and Houlihan Lokey as financial advisors; Debevoise & Plimpton as tax structuring advisor; Grant Thornton as accounting and tax advisor; KPMG as ESG advisor; Marlborough Partners as debt financing advisor; Pinsent Masons as legal advisor; and Roland Berger and Teneo as commercial advisors.
Management enlisted the support of Blick Rothenburg as tax advisor; Clarion as legal advisor; and Jamieson Corporate Finance as investment advisor.
PX3 stands for purpose, passion, and performance. It is a pan-European private equity firm founded in 2021 by Petter Johnsson, Gianpiero Lenza, and Sébastien Mazella di Bosco with headquarters in London. It invests behind transformative themes and targets companies operating within select segments of the business services, consumer and leisure, and industrials sectors with strong business fundamentals. PX3 is committed to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams build great businesses through transformative growth internationally and operational improvement. PX3 is the continuation and consolidation of the founding partners’ investment strategy and their relationship-focused and distinctive value creation model honed over 20 years working together.
Glenn Hayward, Chief Executive Officer of Com Laude
