Francisco Partners and KKR have agreed to acquire minority stakes in Italian software group TeamSystem from main backer Hellman & Friedman, Reuters reported.

H&F is selling around 10% to Francisco Partners and 5% to other investors including KKR, while transferring its remaining holding into another fund. The manoeuvre amounts to a private IPO. The deal follows a steep sell-off in software stocks this year, driven partly by fears over AI's impact.

TeamSystem supplies accounting, payroll, and business management software. Its products are integrated with the Italian government's e-invoicing systems, making them harder for AI-driven challengers to replicate. The company generates more than €1.3bn in revenue and about €600m in core earnings.

The €8bn to €10bn valuation implies a multiple of roughly 16.5 to 17 times 2025 adjusted EBITDA of €476m. H&F first invested in 2016, when EBITDA was just €75m. A filing showed H&F held 69% as of July, alongside Silver Lake and ADIA. The transaction lands amid a wider reshaping of the European software landscape.