Clairfield advises Belgian Mobile ID – itsme® on a EUR 25 million equity raise

Clairfield successfully advised Belgian Mobile ID – itsme®, on a fundraising round of EUR 24.7 million to accelerate its international growth trajectory. The company welcomes the Belgian federal investment holding FPIM-SFPI as a new shareholder that invested EUR 14.5 m for a 20% stake. This fundraising allows Belgian Mobile ID to fulfil its ambition of becoming a European leader in digital identification, authentication, and signing services by investing in the growing digital identity and digital wallet market, with a strong focus on safety and privacy.

Clairfield International acted as exclusive financial advisor to Belgian Mobile ID.

In early 2020, Clairfield carried out a valuation exercise in order to scope the funding need for the company’s international expansion. Belgian Mobile ID chose Clairfield International as financial advisor based on our understanding of the industry and relevant experience – Clairfield had executed a fairness opinion on the Luxembourg counterpart of Belgian Mobile ID. During this mission it became clear that Clairfield International was ideally positioned to execute the second stage of Belgian Mobile ID’s ambition, namely the fundraising, given our excellent network with investors in domestic and international markets. What started as a valuation mandate aimed at determining funding requirements for international expansion today and in the future transitioned into a full-fledged typical capital solutions transaction, where funding needs (EUR 24.7 m) are mapped over the long-term period while identifying an investor who is aligned with future business plans and can provide synergies to the board and future strategy of the company (FPIM-SFPI).

As in all deals, unexpected issues arose during the process and were swiftly and skillfully handled. In addition to drastically different ways of working under COVID, the CEO was replaced midway through the process. The trust relationship had to be rebuilt while ensuring the continuity of the process that was underway. Flexibility and the partner involvement that Clairfield is known for are key in the face of such events. It was also technically challenging to carry out and negotiate the valuation of the new shares that were created as the company was still at the scale-up stage. As is typical with such companies, Belgian Mobile ID was still accelerating operations and had significant cash outlays. Clairfield’s experience in valuations, negotiations, and strategic advisory made it possible to find a solution that more than satisfied existing and new shareholders.