Arcapita Acquires The DataFlow Group, the Largest Provider of Credential Verification Services in the GCC

Arcapita Group Holdings Limited (“Arcapita"), the global alternative investment firm, today announced its acquisition of The DataFlow Group, a leading international provider of credential verification services, from EQT Private Equity. The acquisition represents yet another milestone in Arcapita’s growth strategy, having completed five direct investments and eight add-on acquisitions in the business services space, in the US and GCC, over the past five years. 

DataFlow Verification Services Limited is the GCC’s leading provider of regulation-mandated pre-employment primary source verification (PSV) services, with over 850 employees across nine countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and a global network of more than 160,000 issuing authorities across 190 countries. The company’s workflow and system integrations with issuing authorities and GCC regulators has made it the service provider-of-choice in many markets resulting in long-standing client relationships. While DataFlow has historically focused on the healthcare segment, the company has begun expanding into verticals such as education, engineering, work visa, and sports, and has secured strategic wins in these sectors.

Hisham Al Raee, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Arcapita, commented, “Arcapita’s private equity strategy within the business services sector is to target companies that deliver essential and mission-critical B2B services. Arcapita targets companies that are asset light, technology-enabled, and have strong management teams. Our investment in The DataFlow Group plays a key role in this strategy, while further building on our track record in the sector. We look forward to working closely with DataFlow’s management team to drive further growth across multiple markets, leveraging our global expertise in the sector.”

Yousif Al Abdulla, Managing Director and Head of MENA Investment at Arcapita, also commented, “The DataFlow Group enjoys a dominant market position, underlined by an unrivalled competitive moat, as evidenced by its consistent sales growth. We are excited about the prospects of this partnership and the capabilities of DataFlow’s management team, and are confident in the long-term growth potential of the business in the GCC region and beyond.

Simon Griffiths, Partner within EQT Private Equity’s Advisory Team, said, “We are pleased to have found a good partner for DataFlow for its next phase of the exciting journey. The Company has transformed significantly and become a digitally enabled, leading credential service provider. We are proud of the accomplishments achieved by an outstanding management team led by Sunil Kumar, especially the swift actions in response to COVID-19 and its impressive outperformance during this challenging period. We thank Sunil and the entire management team, all the employees and the board for their vision, dedication and contribution. We are confident that Dataflow will continue to be successful under its new ownership.”

Sunil Kumar, CEO of DataFlow, said “We look forward to joining forces with Arcapita for our next phase of growth and transformation, where their investment will provide The DataFlow Group with enhanced access to cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and machine learning, enabling us to serve our stakeholders better and accelerate our growth. We have solid growth targets for the coming years, and Arcapita’s track record, coupled with a strong leadership team, will enable us to improve our services to meet our clients’ needs best and drive transformation. We thank EQT for supporting The DataFlow Group in reaching this growth phase.”

-ENDS-