Investment company Gimv takes an interest of more than 60 million euros in the Izegem technology company Televic. Televic hopes to double its turnover in five years.
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Televic is owned by Lieven Danneels and Thomas Verstraeten. They sell part of the company, but keep the majority of the shares. “More than half of the investment would go to existing shareholders, the rest would be for acquisitions and growth,” says Gimv.
Televic was founded in 1946 as a builder of telephone systems in hospitals. Until today, the company specializes in communication systems for four professional markets: railways, healthcare, conference and education. Last year it made its largest acquisition with the German GSP Sprachtechnologie, also a specialist in communication for public transport, such as screens in the vehicles and intercom and alarm systems. Televic employs 950 people, nearly 300 of whom work at the headquarters in Izegem.
Gas pedal
“We now want to press the accelerator to grow further. With the takeover in Germany last year, we have seen that this way you can quickly gain market access with our technology and products, ‘says Thomas Verstraeten, co-CEO of Televic. Verstraeten sees opportunities to further expand all four technologies in which the company is active.
“With the entry of Gimv, we aim to double the turnover in a good five years”, says Tom Van de Voorde, investor at Gimv. This doubling must go through acquisitions as well as through own growth. “Because we enter the capital, other companies may be more willing to be taken over by Televic, for example because the main shareholder is old age or because the company is in difficulty,” says Van de Voorde. He also thinks Gimv’s network can help find acquisitions. Van de Voorde also believes that the company will be able to accelerate growth through the further expansion of global sales and distribution networks.
Co-CEO Lieven Danneels is no stranger to Flemish entrepreneurial circles. He is chairman of Voka West Flanders and member of the board of KU Leuven, director at Imec and chairman of Vario (Flemish Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship).
Danneels and Verstraeten took over the company in 1998 with a management buy-in (they were not active in the company before). Televic is currently debt free.
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