Pride Capital Partners exits Fairbanks International Group in sale to Synaforce

Pride Capital Partners is pleased to announce the sale of Fairbanks International Group (“Fairbanks”) to Synaforce, a German managed cloud services provider backed by financial investor Afinum. The transaction marks the successful conclusion of a partnership that has, by every measure, exceeded expectations.

Pride Capital Partners invested in Fairbanks in 2021, providing financing alongside a minority shareholding to facilitate a management buy-out. At that time, the company was already a technically strong player in the European Open Cloud Infrastructure market. What followed was a period of consistent, scalable growth.

A transformation well executed

Fairbanks, headquartered in Baarn (the Netherlands), builds efficient, resilient and user-friendly IT infrastructures for an international customer base. These infrastructures are based on open-source technologies including OpenStack, Kubernetes and Ceph.

The combination of using open-source technologies and Fairbanks’ deep expertise enables clients to maintain full control over their data, operations and technology. At a time when data, operational and technological sovereignty are of the utmost importance, Fairbanks offers a compelling value proposition.

Fairbanks’ growth strategy centered on scalability. The team successfully transformed the business model from being consultancy-driven to a scalable, recurring managed services model.

As a result, Fairbanks doubled its revenue, improved recurring revenue from 50% to more than 75% and nearly tripled EBITDA. This shift created the momentum and the financial strength that made a successful exit possible.

Lars van ’t Hoenderdaal, Managing Partner, Pride Capital Partners

“This exit is the result of years of outstanding work by the Fairbanks team. Ruud, Marijn, and Eric built something genuinely special: a technically excellent business with a loyal, international customer base and a model that scales. We’re proud to have been part of this journey, and we have no doubt that Fairbanks will continue to thrive under Synaforce’s ownership.”

Ruud Harmsen, CEO & Founder, Fairbanks International Group

“I’m proud of everything the Fairbanks team has achieved. During recent years, we have turned Fairbanks into a truly scalable and internationally recognized managed services provider. We look back at a successful partnership with Pride Capital Partners. Joining Synaforce is a logical next step. One that will open new doors for our clients and our people.”

About Fairbanks International Group

Fairbanks, founded in 2004, is headquartered in Baarn, the Netherlands. The company employs ca. 35 FTE, provides managed IT services for open cloud infrastructures, with specialist expertise in OpenStack, Kubernetes, and Ceph. Fairbanks serves national and international clients seeking reliable, expert management of complex private cloud environments.