Bain Capital Invests In Microsoft Partner HSO; Will Sustainable IT Services Remain Priority?

Private equity firm Bain Capital has invested in HSO, a global Microsoft Dynamics, cloud and AI partner that also has ESG and sustainable IT expertise. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Bloomberg estimated that Bain paid $1 billion to acquire a majority HSO stake.

The seller was Carlyle Group. Also of note: HSO founder and CEO Peter J. ter Maaten remains a significant investor, shareholder and board member at HSO, according to the official deal announcement.

HSO, founded in 1987, is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The pure Microsoft partner focuses on cloud services and AI solutions for end-customers. HSO has roughly 2,800 employees worldwide. The company has completed more than 2,500 projects for over 1,400 customers worldwide, according to HSO's website.

Bain Capital, founded in 1984, is based in Boston, Massachusetts. The private investment firm, backed by roughly 1,850 employees, has roughly $185 billion in assets under management.

HSO: Microsoft Dynamics Business Focus, Sustainable IT Expertise

HSO leverages Microsoft Dynamics to build and deploy vertical market solutions. The 360 by HSO software suite has vertical market modules for architecture and engineering, construction, consulting, financial services, government, legal, manufacturing, non-profits, rentals, retail, services and wholesale.

ESG Software: On the sustainable IT software front, HSO offers an ESG & Sustainability solution built on Microsoft Sustainability Manager with DnA (Data and Analytics) accelerators. We don't know how many customers have deployed the solution, or how much revenue it generates for HSO. Moreover, sustainability and ESG were not mentioned in the official Bain Capital-HSO investment announcement.

Still, ESG and sustainability are core to HSO's business mission, according to the company's website. Moreover, new owner Bain Capital has experience in the sustainability software and consulting markets.

One example: Bain Capital Private Equity in 2023 acquired Guidehouse, an IT consulting company that also offers offers numerous sustainability services to help utilities and other types of customers with their carbon footprint reductions. Guidehouse previously was known as previously known as PwC's US Public Sector Business.

Bain Capital Invests in HSO: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the investment, Bain Capital Partner Christophe Jacobs van Merlen said: "HSO sits at the forefront of two secular trends reshaping enterprise technology: cloud migration and AI-led automation. Its exceptional relationship with Microsoft, deep vertical expertise, and global delivery capabilities differentiate it as the preeminent independent Microsoft Dynamics services partner today. We look forward to partnering with Peter and the team to help accelerate HSO’s global expansion and continuing to build-out its capabilities as Microsoft’s go-to partner for AI transformation."

Added HSO Founder and CEO Peter J. ter Maaten: “Carlyle has been an outstanding partner and I would like to thank the team for their role in HSO’s growth and global expansion since 2019, creating the leading international Microsoft Solutions Partner that HSO is today. We are excited to continue our momentum with Bain Capital, a long-term partner that also supports our vision and shares our ambition to build the world’s leading Microsoft services partner.”

Noted Michael Wand, head of Europe private equity at Carlyle, and Thibault Thevissen, principal on the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) investment advisory team: “HSO was a quintessential CETP deal, where we found a sub-scale European hidden champion and, together with the founder, developed the business into a top two Microsoft Dynamics Partner globally over our investment period. This is what CETP does best, partnering with founders and managers of aspirational European B2B Tech businesses and turning them into global leaders. We are very proud to have partnered with Peter and the HSO team over the past six years through what has been a remarkable collaborative effort, and we believe the business will continue to thrive in the future.”

Concluded Charles Lamanna, corporate VP, business & industry copilot at Microsoft and HSO executive sponsor: “Agentic AI is transforming the way that companies operate, and Dynamics 365 and Business Applications sit front and center to this at Microsoft. We have always been a partner-led business, but in times like this rely even more on our leading partners to drive change in our customers’ organizations. HSO has been on the journey with us for over 20 years and today sits among our strongest partners globally with an exceptional level of trust and mutual respect between our teams. This trust will be critical as everyone reimagines their business with AI. We are very excited to see them embark on this next stage of growth.”

HSO: Microsoft Cloud Partner M&A Experience

HSO, under Carlyle Group's ownership from 2019 through August 2025, grew organically and through acquisitions. For instance, HSO acquired:

• 2021: SAGlobal and their 360 Solutions Group of Atlanta, Georgia.
• 2021: CRM Dynamics, a Gold Certified Microsoft partner in Canada.
• 2022: Motion10, a Microsoft partner in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, that served 140 clients.
• 2024: Aware Group, a New Zealand-based Microsoft partner.

We've reached out to HSO for an update on the company's sustainable IT software strategy. Stay tuned for potential updates.