LIMA, Peru & BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Canvia (canvia.com), a leading company focused on digital transformation, announced today the acquisition of Ideafoster. Based in Spain, Ideafoster provides fast innovation and prototyping services to blue-chip clients across Europe, the US and Latin America. Founded in 2014, Ideafoster is led by entrepreneurs Pau Garcia-Milà and Anna Cejudo with the aim of helping companies generate prototypes and test ideas to accelerate innovation.
With this acquisition, Canvia, a leading company in digital transformation with 34 years of history and a team of more than 2,500 people, goes a step further in its strategy to promote digital transformation, helping to generate new business models for customers through fast innovation. Canvia is backed by Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors.
Since its inception, Ideafoster has carried out fast innovation projects with companies in sectors such as global consumer goods, banking, retail and automotive across Europe and the Americas, including Spain, Peru, Switzerland, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and South Korea, among others. Its business model consists of helping large companies accelerate their innovation process by prototyping new business models, products and services using start-up methodologies.
Ideafoster will maintain its headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. In addition, the company will expand its presence in Lausanne, Switzerland, and will open a new office in Lima, Peru. Pau Garcia-Milà will continue to lead this new stage as CEO, in what he considers a new and exciting challenge in his career.
“At Ideafoster, we are very happy to become part of Canvia. This is a great challenge as well as an opportunity to continue growing alongside a market leader. This operation is a turning point in the history of the company, opening a great platform to consolidate in Latin America,” explains Garcia-Milà.
According to the CEO of Canvia, Jaime Dasso, "fast innovation is a key part of Canvia's strategy to be a reference in digital transformation in the region, and this acquisition brings us closer to this strategy. With an annual growth of 20% for the next five years, incorporating capabilities and technologies as well as generating an ecosystem of strategic partnerships worldwide, we expect to reach 2023 with a turnover of over US $ 400 million.”
"We believe this makes significant progress towards CANVIA’s goal of becoming a leader for digital transformation in the region. Advent seeks to support its portfolio companies in inorganic growth strategies and this is a great example of our resources aiding in significant value creation,” said Adolfo Vinatea, a Director at Advent International.
The sale of Ideafoster is the second in the entrepreneurial career of Pau Garcia-Milà. Born in Barcelona in 1987, he founded his first company when he was 17, which was later acquired by Telefónica. He was named Innovator of the Year in 2011 for the MIT publication TR-35 and was the winner of the Prince of Girona Enterprise FPdGI Award 2010. Today, he combines his work at Ideafoster with teaching digital business courses for the graduate program at ESADE.
About Canvia
Canvia is a company that promotes and supports the digital transformation of its customers with the purpose of making their lives easier on their journey towards the reinvention of their business. It has a human team of more than 2,500 people, supported by a culture of disruption, excellence and a service vocation. It is part of Advent International portfolio, the fifth largest private capital fund in the world, with a portfolio of companies valued at around US $ 45 billion.
About Ideafoster
Ideafoster is a company dedicated to the management of fast innovation and prototyping, born in Barcelona in 2014 with the aim of helping large companies to prototype new business models, products and services based on the start-up’s methodologies. It has clients in 12 countries including Spain, Peru, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany and South Korea, among others.
About Advent International
Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 340 private equity transactions in 41 countries and as of June 30, 2018, it had $41 billion in assets under management. With offices on four continents, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 190 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom. After more than 30 years dedicated to international investing, Advent remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies.
Advent has been investing in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) sector for 28 years, completing more than 75 investments in 24 countries, including Canvia.