MATTHEW BYATT
Managing Partner
“The partnership with Creafund marks the beginning of a new era and the continuation of our strong traditions,” said Koen Verhaege, CEO and Co-Founder of Sofics. “Creafund has an undisputed track record in supporting companies in their growth ambitions and also brings financial reinforcement to support the implementation of our business plan,” said Inge Vercruysse, Co-Founder and CFO. “We remain fully committed to our team and will continue working together to grow our customer base and further develop our technologies.”
Sofics was initially founded with a specific focus on reducing the sensitivity of semiconductors to electrostatic discharge (ESD) and is unique in this regard. It now counts large international companies among its customers, geographically spread across the globe from Silicon Valley to South Korea, including Taiwan, Israel and Japan. Today the focus is on developing robust IC solutions at both the basic building block level (ESD, EOS , EMC, RadHard etc.) as well as at the higher circuit level (PHY, I/O and others).
Ruth De Wulf, an Investment Director at Creafund said, “Semiconductors play an important role in our society and are an integral part of our future, which fits perfectly into Creafund’s long-term vision. In order to be able to respond to the continuous evolution of this sector and the role of Sofics in it, we look forward to supporting this niche player by strengthening the current market position and accelerating international growth, together with a highly motivated management team.”
Matthew Byatt, Managing Partner at Acuity said, “Koen and Inge are real entrepreneurs and have built Sofics into a highly successful semiconductor IP business over the last 20 years with their team of experts. By teaming up with Creafund, Sofics enters a new phase in its development and will be ideally positioned to take advantage of the multiple growth opportunities ahead.”
Sofics’ solutions can be found in all types of chips used by numerous technologies and devices, such as smartphones, flat screen TVs and game consoles. Sofics’ solutions are also used in cars, satellite systems and even robots on Mars. The company is an excellent example of Flemish entrepreneurship with a global impact.
About Sofics
Sofics (stands for: Solutions for ICs) is an important link in the world of semiconductors. It operates as a chip architecture firm where a team of 20 people use their designs to ensure better functioning chips, making both the semiconductors and the wider systems around them more efficient, cheaper, more robust and more reliable. The company can count on an impressive customer portfolio ranging from the largest chip manufacturers in the world to high-tech international listed companies.
About Creafund
Creafund is a long-term investment holding company, specialising in buy-out and growth capital for mid-sized companies. Founded in 2001, it has supported more than 30 companies in their growth and currently has EUR 200m under management. Creafund is owned by its management team and supported by 60 Flemish entrepreneurial families, who all mobilise their network, experience, capital and common sense.
“The partnership with Creafund marks the beginning of a new era and the continuation of our strong traditions. Creafund has an undisputed track record in supporting companies in their growth ambitions and also brings financial reinforcement to support the implementation of our business plan, we remain fully committed to our team and will continue working together to grow our customer base and further develop our technologies.”
KOEN VERHAEGE and INGE VERCRUYSSE
CEO & CFO, Co-Founders
Sofics
Meet the Sofics Deal Team
EXPERIENCED, EXPERT AND CONNECTED.
Matthew is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Acuity and leads the Acuity Advisors’ Deeptech practice.
Matthew has held senior leadership and corporate finance positions with some of the UK’s most successful and influential technology and consultancy companies. Roles with ARM, McKinsey and Cadence have given Matthew an exceptional insight into the world’s most successful businesses and a number of the UK’s eminent start-ups, underpinning his success at Acuity.
Matthew has considerable experience across a broad range of technology sectors throughout the UK, US and Asia, ranging from nanotechnology, semiconductor and cleantech to digital media and internet businesses. It’s experience that has given him a robust, well-developed and international network. Having also run and successfully exited his own business, Matthew has a deep understanding of the financial and emotional aspects of this demanding process, bringing a unique and authoritative perspective to each business sale.
One of Matthew’s strengths is understanding complex technical value propositions, one of the benefits of training as an electronic engineer. He gets to the heart of what drives a company’s value and communicates this persuasively to potential buyers and investors. Matthew understands a buyer’s motivation intuitively and delivers a compelling rationale for why a business sale should be of strategic interest. His insight consistently yields higher deal values and results in great successes for his clients.