Benelux Business Awards 2019

4 EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2019 Benelux Business Awards Ramphastos Investments Best International Venture Capital Specialists 2019 & Recognised Leaders in SME Investment 2019 Ramphastos Investments is an entrepreneurial private equity and venture capital investment firmwith a strong, international track record. The firmwas founded almost a quarter of a century ago and continues its ambitious global expansionwith investments on all continents across a broad range of industries. To celebrate the firmwinning two coveted Benelux Business Awards this year, we profile it and share an insight into the company, its achievements and its ever-growing ambitions. May19556 A substantial proportion of private equity firms adopt a strategy of cutting down business costs in portfolio companies to generate greater profits. By acting as an entrepreneurial business builder that aims to grow revenue and add value to its portfolio companies, Ramphastos is set apart from much of the private equity world. A successful turnaround strategy includes robust cost control and streamlined operations. Ramphastos Investments was established in 1994 by the renowned Dutch entrepreneurial investor Marcel Boekhoorn. Boekhoorn founded the firm to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship following his successful career at Deloitte, where he became the youngest Dutch partner. In Ramphastos’ early years, Boekhoorn developed an approach to businesses building which the company still pursues today. His strategy focusses on driving revenue growth through buy-and-build strategies, internationalisation, management empowerment and strategic partnerships. Ramphastos places an emphasis on marketplace innovation and will be challenging the status quo by introducing new product portfolios, pricing and channel strategies. This strategy proved to be extremely successful: by achieving spectacular returns through a series of high-profile exits, the firm’s portfolio and it's invested capital grew exponentially within a few years. However, the fundamental focus at Ramphastos is to catalyse growth in market share, turnover and profit, achieved through entrepreneurial innovation and managerial support, as opposed to predominantly driving profits through slashing costs. A distinctive characteristic of Ramphastos’ acquisition strategy is, furthermore, to never buy into an enterprise without having a prospective future buyer in mind. If Ramphastos cannot , foresee an exit strategy, it does not invest. Through investing its own capital, Ramphastos does not face a pressure or obligation to sell. This enables the firm to focus on the execution of a predefined strategic value creation plan and only exit when the time is right. Over the years, Ramphastos has successfully started and sold start- ups, launched IPOs, completed de-listings and achieved outsized © M&A Awards / Alex van Groningen