Capture One’s Private Equity Owner Is Trying to Sell It: Report
Reports suggest that Axcel, the Nordic private equity firm that has owned Capture One since 2019, is working to sell the photography software company via auction.
In January, global credit intelligence and data firm, Octus’ Jihye Hwang and Leanna Reeves, reported that Axcel was proceeding with its auction sale of Capture One via Stifel, a global wealth management and investment banking company. This builds upon reporting a year ago from Kapwatch that likewise detailed Axcel’s intentions to sell Phase One.
After Axcel bought Phase One, which included Capture One, in 2019, the private equity firm split the two businesses into separate entities. Per Kapwatch, Axcel plans to sell Phase One first, then Capture One, although officially neither business has been sold at the time of writing and the transaction order could change if the right buyer arrives.
It is not difficult to see why Axcel may want to relieve itself of Phase One and Capture One. Axcel purchased Phase One and Capture One in 2019 for 1.5 billion Danish kroner, which is about $233.8 million at current exchange rates.
In 2024, Phase One A/S reported significantly lower revenue than the year before, about $48 million. This was down from over $70 million in 2023. Phase One’s 2024 profit was over $3.6 million in the red. The company’s full-time employee count dropped from 210 to 2020 to 174 by 2024, and cash flows were negative in three of those five years.
Phase One’s management group called its 2024 revenue “unsatisfactory,” while expressing optimism that things would improve with the expectation of customers “re-engaging” with its business.
On the other hand, Capture One’s financial situation in 2024 was better. At the same time, gross profit did not increase as much as expected that year: the company finished the year in the black with a 2% increase in gross profit. Granted, some of that was due to the company cutting over 30% of its staff compared to 2023.
Octus’ sources report that the company’s EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, was 68 million Danish kroner, or about $10.6 million, in 2024. Axcel claims that Capture One generates about 24 million euros ($27.9 million) in annual revenue.
The EBITDA is a very important metric. Octus says that software companies in Europe trade, on average, at about 15.8 times their EBITDA. In Capture One’s case, that would be around $167.5 million.
Phase One’s 2024 EBITDA was just under $3.5 million. While it is a hardware company, not a software one, it is difficult to imagine Axcel exiting its Phase One purchase in the black.
The financial situation could explain why Axcel is working to sell these companies now, perhaps to lessen the blow and prevent further losses. It is also easy to contextualize Capture One’s upcoming 6% price hike across all its products as part of an attempt to make the company more valuable to a potential buyer. A 6% price increase is unlikely to send enough customers running for greener, or cheaper, pastures, which would worsen Capture One’s bottom line. Quite the contrary, it could provide a nice little valuation bump for the software brand.
Octus’ sources report that Axcel is running lender education to finance the sale of its Capture One assets, which means two things. One, Axcel is compiling all the relevant financial information that interested investors may need. Two, it is serious about selling Capture One.
“We don’t have any news to share regarding a sale of Capture One. Capture One became an Axcel portfolio company in July 2019 and we remain the same today,” Capture One told PetaPixel.
Axcel did not respond to PetaPixel‘s request for comment.
Image credits: Capture One. Header photo created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.com.
