Sophista guides acquisition of Kuijzer Installatietechniek

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At the table in Uitgeest are Nick Ursem, corporate finance consultant at Sophista (part of the Guidon Group), Danny Hofman and Clim Kuijzer of Kuijzer Installatietechniek and Jeffrey Schoordijk of Facta Elektrotechniek. At the end of 2023, the acquisition of Kuijzer by Facta, supervised by Nick, became a reality.

Delivering added value

“Danny and Clim came to us because they were looking for reinforcement for their organization,” Nick adds. “With 12 employees, Kuijzer Installatietechniek was ready for the next step in the further expansion of the company, which required support in the areas of calculation and work preparation. Housing Kuijzer with a strategic party was a suitable solution to this issue. Danny and Clim were open to an acquisition, but by an organization where one and one would become three, and that could provide the requested support in the day-to-day business. At Sophista, we understand the impact of such a decision. Therefore, in preparation, we first understand the company and their business model and offer guidance throughout the process, up to and including the sale. We provide added value on many fronts.
Think of finding and approaching potential buyers, conducting negotiations and project management. What matters in a transaction is the right party, the price, terms and other desired conditions. And of course about the good feeling on both sides, which is perhaps the basis.”

Major change

Danny: “We hesitated for quite a long time whether we wanted to take the step to an acquisition, you know. At Kuijzer we work with a small, close-knit team, for which we feel a great deal of responsibility. Selling your company is about so much more than just the price. And what Nick points out; it is an expertise, such a transaction is, certainly on a detailed level, a complicated story. It involves, among other things, emotions about which arguing is pointless. Then it is final to be able to rely on the knowledge and experience of an expert.”
“I started Kuijzer on my own,” Clim indicates, “and we grew very naturally to where we are today. When we came into contact with Facta Elektrotechniek last year, fortunately there was almost immediately a click on a personal level, but still it took some getting used to in the beginning of the cooperation.
Change seems challenging and necessary, until it is about yourself, is my experience. I was used to all the freedom in entrepreneurship together with Danny, and I quite underestimated the impact of inserting myself into a running organization. But you see that our guys quickly add to the team and take on the challenging projects that are out there well. That is very important to us, and we are enormously proud of that.”

Together into the future

“I am confident that we are all going to have a bright future together,” Jeffrey believes. “We are now 45 FTEs, a nice club of people with a very diverse palette of knowledge and experience.
Our vision is that you can only be successful and grow healthily as a company if you have a scalable business model. This is the best way to anticipate all the changes, which, after all, will always be there. That we were able to add a beautiful company like Kuijzer to our company through Sophista’s pleasant guidance is really an added value for the future!”
This article was originally published in INTO Business magazine spring 2024 issue.