Investment company Bencis acquires a majority stake in automation company Cadac Group from Heerlen. Bencis acquires a total of approximately 70 per cent of the shares from founder Jan Baggen and from development company LIOF, co-shareholder since 1998.
Bencis is a Dutch independent investment company that invests in medium-sized, successful companies in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Bencis supports entrepreneurs in realising their growth ambitions, with a focus on committed entrepreneurship and sustainable value creation. Bencis now has 32 companies in its portfolio with a total turnover of 2.5 billion euros and over 13,000 employees.
‘Bencis is the best option for Cadac,’ says Jan Baggen, who founded the company in 1986 and built it into a leading automation company with a turnover of more than 66 million euros last year and nearly 200 employees. ‘By choosing a private equity firm, the changes will be minimal; only the ownership structure of Cadac Group Holding will change.’
Confidence
Jacob Versteeg of Bencis says he is very pleased with the transaction. "We look forward to supporting Cadac in its growth ambitions. Cadac is the market leader in automation for design, engineering and construction software and is known for the high quality of its services. It is active in various markets that are very interesting due to the increasing demand for automation and integration among chain partners. We therefore have a lot of confidence in Cadac, but above all in the collaboration with Jan Baggen, Paul Smeets (CTO) and the rest of the Cadac team. We have known Jan and the team for a long time and look forward to intensifying our collaboration now."
Two options
Both parties have been in serious talks behind the scenes for some time. ‘Since 2024,’ explains Jan Baggen. "Despite my love for Cadac and my ambition to remain involved with Cadac forever, I had to be rational and think about Cadac's future without me. Roughly speaking, I had two options. Keep the shares and hope that one of our children would take over the business, or find a new investor. The first option would be the best, but it places an enormous strain on our family, so we started looking for a new investor. Bencis is the right candidate, I am convinced of that."
Autodesk
Cadac is one of Autodesk's largest partners, particularly in the Benelux, Germany and Southern Europe. Autodesk is an American software company known worldwide for its advanced design, engineering and construction software, such as AutoCAD and Revit. Digitalisation is in full swing in the manufacturing industry, construction and government. The experts at Cadac Group help their customers embrace this digital transformation with both Cadac and Autodesk software and the associated services. Jan Baggen: "We could have opted for a partnership with another major Autodesk partner, but with this transaction we are safeguarding Cadac's independence, continuity and identity. It is important to us that the current vision and strategy are continued. During the discussions with Bencis, trust grew. It was not just a financial transaction; it is also about our people and the resources to continue investing and growing."
LIOF
Development company LIOF, a committed investor, shareholder and partner of Cadac for more than 25 years, fully supports the sale of shares. ‘We wholeheartedly support this acquisition,’ says Siska van Houdt, Investment Manager. ‘Our collaboration dates back to the period when LIOF was actively investing in the then emerging ICT sector. Cadac has since grown into a leading Limburg-based company within the ICT sector. The acquisition by Bencis strengthens the foundation for the future. Cadac retains both its international position and its regional ties with Limburg.’
Shares
The share transaction was officially signed by all parties involved on Wednesday, 27 August 2025. Jan Baggen will remain CEO of Cadac Group and will retain a quarter of the shares through his holding company TwinPort. Just under 5 per cent of the shares will remain in the hands of the management and a few key employees, including CTO Paul Smeets and CFO Astrid van de Sande.
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