Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group, today announced the acquisition of a significant minority interest in QIMA, a leading provider of supply chain compliance solutions, alongside QIMA’s founder and management. This investment will allow the company to continue driving its strategic growth plan focused on both acquisitions and the expansion of its service offerings into new geographies and sectors. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Founded in 2005, QIMA is a fast-growing global Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) company and a digital pioneer in the sector that has invested heavily in developing an industry-leading technology platform. The company is active in the food, consumer goods and life sciences markets with over 15,000 clients in over 120 countries. QIMA has a broad global presence with more than 4,000 employees in 88 countries, as well as offices and specialized laboratories located around the world. The company has further developed a differentiated value proposition through its own supply chain quality management SaaS platform, QIMAone, which facilitates transparency and collaboration by enabling customers to have real time visibility of their entire procurement ecosystem and a shared view of quality and compliance performance.
“We are thrilled to welcome CDPQ and begin a new chapter in the development of QIMA,” said Sebastien Breteau, founder and CEO at QIMA. “As consumers’ expectations surrounding quality, safety, and environmental impact continue to rise, widespread disruptions are simultaneously making global supply chain management more complex than ever. With the support of CDPQ, QIMA is in a unique position to help. By combining an industry-leading technology platform with our global experts’ presence on the ground, we’ll continue to bring more transparency and traceability to the products consumers are using every day.”
“QIMA has enjoyed significant growth thanks to its superior level of digitalization and ability to successfully integrate numerous acquisitions over the last few years while also continuing to serve a growing base of blue-chip clients,” said Martin Laguerre, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity and Capital Solutions at CDPQ. “With this investment, we look forward to partnering with QIMA and its strong management team as they continue to support a broad range of clients across the world with fast, accurate and transparent data that is essential to ensuring quality products that improve consumer safety and confidence.”
“We are delighted to partner with QIMA and to support the company in its next phase of growth,” said Albrecht von Alvensleben, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Europe at CDPQ London. “QIMA’s entrepreneurial, customer-centric culture, combined with its proven ability to continuously reinvent itself, are perfectly aligned with CDPQ’s ambition to create sustainable, long-term value.”
Linklaters LLP served as legal counsel, BCG as commercial advisor, and PwC as finance and tax advisor to CDPQ. SVZ served as legal counsel, EY-Parthenon as commercial and IT advisor, Accuracy as finance advisor, and DLA Piper as tax and legal advisor to QIMA. Oloryn Partners served as advisor to QIMA’s management.
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