Softonic Receives €82 Million Investment From Partners Group

La Vanguardia reported yesterday that the Swiss investment management conglomerate Partners Group finalized the purchase of 30% equity in Catalan startup Softonic for €82 million.  The deal gave a new current valuation of the Barcelona-based download giant of €275 million.

Softonic is already a global force without the recent cash infusion. With more than 350 employees operating in Barcelona, Madrid, Shanghai, Tokyo, and San Francisco, the Softonic enjoys over 140 MAUs and supports applications in 10 different languages.  Presumably, the new partnership will focus on the continued global expansion, especially in the rapidly growing mobile download space.

Softonic has made incredible strides the last few years to jump ahead of competitors and become a world leading download site.  With estimated 15% year-over-year growth and €45 million in turnover for fiscal year 2011, Partners Group hopes to capitalize on Softonic’s world class online advertising model. di

The move also marks the exit of Digitial River Funds and Tang Capital, previous holders of about 17% of Softonic shares.  It’s important to note that company’s founder and president, Tomas Diago, did not commit any personal holdings to attract the new capital and still retains majority ownership.  You can check out the official press release from Partners Group here.