With PitchBook, Capient supported a transformational strategic investment in a premium outdoor brand

As a long-term capital markets partner, Capient helps companies build and communicate their investment case, defend and maximize valuation, attract the right long-term investors, and access capital when it matters most. It brings together strategic and financial advisory, AI-augmented infrastructure, and hands-on investor engagement and execution support.

“What makes us unique is the integration of strategic advisory with flawless execution. Clients don’t have to choose between an investment bank, IR advisor, or consultant—we bring elements of each together, under one roof, with a single objective: long-term value creation,” said Danielle Glenn, Capient’s Chief Commercial Officer.

It’s uncommon for an advisory firm to offer end-to-end service throughout a client’s entire lifecycle—from early-stage development through to post-IPO advisory. But Glenn and her colleagues often work alongside management teams and boards to benefit companies and their investors over long periods of time.

“Our multidisciplinary expertise—from banking, consulting, C-suite roles, equity research, IR and communications—all come into play at various points in a client’s journey,” said Glenn.

Capient prides itself on engaging deeply with its clients’ needs, working at the intersection of strategy and execution. Its offerings span investment case development, financial modeling and valuation frameworks, capital markets strategy, investor targeting, IR and communications, and transaction execution support.

“We are recognized for our ability to defend and enhance valuation in transactions and high-impact situations as well as over long-time horizons,” said Glenn.

Using PitchBook’s data to accurately price a lucrative transaction

PitchBook’s data supported Capient in providing evidence-based valuation insights that helped both parties reach alignment on the transaction value.

Devold is a 170-year-old merino wool brand that was acquired by the Flakk Group, a family office, approximately 30 years ago. When Flakk wanted to sell a 20 percent stake to someone in the premium retail space, Devold turned to Glenn’s team for strategic insight—and that’s where PitchBook’s screeners, data, and company profiles came in.

The Capient team leveraged Pitchbook to identify Fenix Outdoor as the optimal partner not only due to its global distribution channels supporting Devold’s international expansion, but also because of an established trusted relationship.

Fenix expressed interest, but its past transactions typically involved acquiring 100 percent ownership, whereas Flakk initially wanted to retain control. There was also the matter of getting to a fair and balanced valuation both parties could agree on.

Through customized filters, the Capient team isolated 20 peers and 30 deals across relevant global specialty lifestyle companies beyond the Nordics to determine a fair valuation range.

“For the first part of the deal, we used PitchBook to triangulate valuation. We combined a typical DCF analysis and used the platform for all the comps and global M&A transaction benchmarks,” said Glenn.

By leveraging PitchBook’s peer screening, global comp transactions, and metadata, Capient supported price discovery and identified a credible EV/EBITDA valuation range of 11-13x.

“As negotiations evolved, PitchBook also allowed us to identify an alternative universe of more than 15 potential buyers based on brand synergies, geography, and past deal activity,” said Glenn.

The data-driven approach helped broaden the buyer universe and improve process efficiency—supporting constructive valuation discussions and timely execution.

Ultimately, the combination of brand fit and valuation credibility ensured a swift transaction close, stronger governance outcome, and long-term strategic alignment.

Capient’s analysis—integrating comps, precedent deals, and DCF and leveraging Pitchbook data—and tactical deal support helped both buyer and seller align on transaction terms at the upper end of Capient’s identified fair valuation range, with Fenix acquiring a 65% stake in Devold for EUR 35 million in cash and 112,898 Fenix shares.

Whether in growth equity raises, M&A or IPOs, Capient relies on Pitchbook to validate valuation ranges, benchmark peer multiples and financial KPIs, and identify the optimal investors.

“PitchBook gives us confidence. With listed companies, it’s very good on financial metrics and historical financials, what other peers are valued at, and comps transaction benchmarks. Just having all of that in one place is very compelling,” said Glenn.

Capient’s clients require sustained access to capital and supportive investors throughout their lifecycles, including during challenging times. PitchBook provides the ability to calculate the right valuations for companies, helping Capient refine clients’ investor targeting and engagement strategies.

Expanding across Europe with PitchBook’s global data

To successfully scale across the UK, DACH, and Benelux, Capient needs to position clients against global benchmarks, investors, and comp transactions, not just local peers.

“PitchBook gives us instant access to global data, and it helps us elevate Nordic companies not just on their valuation but how they’re perceived on an international stage. This is how we achieved an attractive valuation for Devold. The transaction highlighted Devold’s strong international brand positioning and global relevance in the premium outdoor segment,” said Glenn.
 
Capient is scaling across all service areas: strategic capital markets and financial advisory, transactions and IPOs, investor relations and stakeholder engagement, and high impact situation support. Embedding AI into workflows while keeping human-led advisory is at the core of its expansion plans.

As an integrated partner with involvement on everything from board discussions to business plans, Capient supports companies through both the highs and lows. PitchBook is vital for day-to-day operations as an integral part of the firm’s growth plan. It has already demonstrated value in areas such as valuation frameworks, investors searches, and transaction intelligence.

“Our clients hire us to deliver fair valuations and access to capital, and a good percentage of them are in some sort of capital raise or transaction environment. So, PitchBook is becoming a strong part of our infrastructure and how we deliver value to clients. It gives us the credibility and data-driven precision that we need to be able to talk with sellers,” said Glenn. Capient’s ultimate KPI is long-term total shareholder return and value creation.