SoftwareONE and COMPAREX to form a leading global Platform, Solutions and Services company

SoftwareONE, a global leading Platform, Solutions and Services company, today announced it has reached an agreement to purchase 100 percent of shares in COMPAREX, a global IT service provider, from Raiffeisen Informatik GmbH. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

By coming together, COMPAREX will enhance SoftwareONE’s customer offerings by combining industry leading talent, expertise and capabilities. Following the combination, SoftwareONE will help customers optimize and manage an estimated €10 bn in software purchases. The combined company will have an expanded global reach across 88 countries, allowing customers to receive on-the-ground, local-language support wherever they operate, from more than 5,500 employees. A comprehensive services and solutions portfolio, driven by proven and continued investment in innovation, will provide customers with more advanced solutions, including SoftwareONE’s PyraCloud, an industry-leading platform for digital software supply chain management.

“As a private company, we carefully review potential acquisitions to ensure that we are best utilizing our capital. Along with our investor KKR, we spent considerable time intensely searching for the ideal partner and are convinced we have found it with COMPAREX. Together, we will be driven by SoftwareONE’s core values as we continue to transform the industry. SoftwareONE’s founders will remain majority shareholders of the combined company," said Daniel von Stockar, Chairman of SoftwareONE Board of Directors.

Combining decades of expertise and strong customer relationships

Information Technology and Software have transformed from supporting a business to driving businesses forward. SoftwareONE has an intense focus on software solutions and delivering business-outcomes for its customers, as well as a clear focus on people development and building a services-solutions-platform portfolio centered around customer needs.

For customers, SoftwareONE serves as a source of authority on ensuring their technology spend has the right impact within their business, as well as connecting them to modern outcome-driven solutions that enable their business to be more agile and competitive. SoftwareONE’s partners trust the company’s strategic expertise and experience to build customer solutions on their cloud platforms, while enabling the partners to reach their globally distributed customers.

COMPAREX, with its deep technical knowledge of more than three decades, has evolved into one of the world’s leading IT service providers. It has become an integration layer between its customers and the major IT and cloud platform providers, offering global managed services optimizing customers’ investment in technology. With an exceptional expertise in workforce productivity, COMPAREX is supporting customers during their digital journey towards productivity optimization.

COMPAREX has become an important partner for the industry, supporting digital transformation with tailored cloud solutions, enabling the customers to focus on their core business while relying on COMPAREX’s cloud and IT competence.

Joint efforts to reach a common goal

“The software and services industry continues the transition to a subscription business model heightened by digital transformation, with a strong demand for cloud services. SoftwareONE has always been at the forefront of driving industry innovation and delivering leading solutions and services that meet our customers’ evolving needs,” said Dieter Schlosser, SoftwareONE Executive Management Team.

“The acquisition of COMPAREX is an important step in this journey, and together we will have the scale, geographic footprint, comprehensive portfolio and wide-ranging capabilities needed to provide our customers with enhanced service quality and stability around the world. We are thrilled to welcome COMPAREX employees to our organization as we continue to build the future of our industry,” said Neil Lomax, SoftwareONE Executive Management Team.

The combination is fully aligned with SoftwareONE’s focus on long-term growth and investment in the company’s employee base. SoftwareONE is committed to both the personal and professional development of its employees, who will receive significant opportunities to flourish as part of a leading global organization. To support this, COMPAREX’s Chief Executive Officer Thomas Reich and Chief Sales Officer Marc Betgem will join the SoftwareONE Executive Management Team.

“Our employees are our strongest asset and number one priority, a belief that SoftwareONE shares and has proven in its commitment to its workforce throughout its history,” said Thomas Reich, CEO of COMPAREX. “By bringing together the knowledge and talents of both companies, we will enable our customers globally to stay more competitive in their industries through the advanced global solutions and services we deliver.”

“SoftwareONE’s relentless focus on its customers, and their commitment to continuously innovate on their behalf, perfectly aligns with COMPAREX’s culture. Our growth rates have been significant in the past and we will accelerate that growth. We will be a leading player in the market and we will deliver more and more value for our customers. I look forward to being a part of the combined company and joining the SoftwareONE Executive Management Team, and am excited for what we will accomplish as one company,” said Marc Betgem, CSO of COMPAREX.

SoftwareONE will maintain its headquarters in Stans, Switzerland. Together, the company will have more than 200 locations across 88 countries, with an ability to support across 150 countries. COMPAREX’s Leipzig campus will continue to play an important role in serving global and EMEA customers.

“The combined company will be built upon a “best-of-both” approach, bringing together SoftwareONE’s entrepreneurial culture with COMPAREX’s process-driven experience. We look forward to integrating COMPAREX’s deep technical knowledge into our own, sharing with our new colleagues all that SoftwareONE has to offer, and welcoming incredible talent from the company to advance our combined business. As one company, we will invest into the most talented team of colleagues in our industry to drive solutions and outcomes for our customers, at an even greater pace,” said Alex Alexandrov, SoftwareONE Executive Management Team.

Closing is expected in the first half of 2019. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals.

About SoftwareONE

SoftwareONE, a global leader in software and cloud portfolio management, is modernizing the way organizations budget and optimize their global IT spend from on-premises to the cloud. With over 1.000 Technology Projects globally SoftwareONE has the expertise to provide customers with the right advice on their Technology Roadmap towards the cloud or optimizing the Business-outcome of a cloud-based landscape. The PyraCloud platform, applying machine learning, delivers the visibility, insight, automation and control customers demand to maximize their software investments. In tandem, our Software Portfolio Management (SPM) and Software Asset Management (SAM) services provide the methodology and framework to optimize the underlying IT infrastructure, accelerate cloud adoption and minimize compliance risk. Privately owned since 1985, with over 3,000 technology experts located across 80+ countries, SoftwareONE is one of the fastest growing technology solution providers in the world with elite partnerships with Microsoft, AWS, Adobe, IBM, VMware, Oracle, Citrix, Red Hat, Trend Micro and many more. To learn more about SoftwareONE, visit http://www.softwareone.com and connect with the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About COMPAREX

As a global IT company with thirty years of experience, COMPAREX is a mayor global IT service provider and software license management company. COMPAREX develops innovative managed services that support companies leveraging their software and cloud investments and increasing their workforce productivity. COMPAREX serves corporate customers spanning from small businesses to large international corporations as well as public institutions. The COMPAREX Group employs 2,500 people at over 80 locations in 36 countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and generated a revenue of € 2.533 billion in 2017/18. To learn more about COMPAREX, visit https://comparex.com.

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Contact information

SoftwareONE
Anette Nachbar, +49 15228810363
anachbar@brunswickgroup.com
or
Sabine Morgenthal, +49 6924005510
smorgenthal@brunswickgroup.com
or
COMPAREX
Katharine Hersey, +43 1205120681
communications@comparex.com