Düsseldorf, September 15, 2020 – Software investor Main Capital acquires a majority stake in Lübeck-based MACH AG, a market leading software vendor for the German government sector with EUR 44m in revenues and more than 400 employees. The founding family Müller-Ontjes remains on board as active owner. With its comprehensive product portfolio and deep sector expertise, MACH is a frontrunner in providing digital services and solutions to German governmental bodies. Joining forces with Main will allow MACH to profit from Main’s long-standing expertise in the government software market and further leverage its sector expertise.
MACH was founded in 1985 and has since then build up extensive knowledge and an entrenched market position in the highly attractive German government sector, exhibiting significant market entry barriers. From its six German offices and with more than 400 employees, the company serves 10,000+ public institutions in Germany. MACH provides its solutions to all government levels (federal, state, and municipality), educational and research institutions as well as churches and welfare organizations, serving notable customers such as the Bundesverwaltungsamt (federal administration office), the federal police and various federal states (e.g. Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen).
MACH provides a comprehensive solution and service portfolio that allows its clients to digitize their key administrative and financial processes. The core solution is a financial management module which is compliant with all relevant accounting systems used in the German public sector. Currently, more than half of the payments at federal state level are supported by MACH’s financial management solution and the company’s clients regularly cite MACH’s stringent focus on requirements of public administrations as a key advantage over more generalist software offerings.
To herald the next growth phase, a joint strategy will focus on extending the company’s product and technology offering while further expanding its vertical coverage with organic as well as inorganic initiatives. This will be crucial to position the company for the new market dynamics following from recent regulatory initiatives introduced by the German government such as the Online Access Act.
With investments in Exxellence group (public sector, Netherlands), SDB group and Alfa, (healthcare in Netherlands and Sweden) the investment in MACH AG in the German public sector is considered as strategic by Main.
Sven van Berge Henegouwen, Partner in Germany, states: “Since 2016, we have been in regular contact with MACH and are very pleased that the company has opted for Main Capital as their strategic partner to initiate a new growth chapter. We are convinced that together we will succeed in further expanding the pivotal role that MACH already plays in the digitization of the public administration in Germany. Our goal is to assist MACH in becoming the leading digitization partner for the public sector.”
Rolf Sahre, CEO of MACH AG, adds: ” Current topics such as the German government’s economic stimulus package, the implementation of the Online Access Act and future-oriented topics such as Smart City and Artificial Intelligence offer great opportunities to continue MACH’s growth path. After a thorough selection process, we have chosen Main Capital Partners as one of the leading investors in the B2B software sector in Northwest Europe. In addition to the valuable industry experience, we were convinced by Main’s long-term investment approach, which is based on a partnership with the founders and the management team as well as MACH’s continued independence. Partnering with Main will allow us to leverage our full potential and improve our innovative strength to continuously support the public administration as a strong and reliable partner.”
About MACH AG
Digitization of paper files, more transparency in the financial budget or modern personnel processes – MACH AG has been supporting public administrations in digitization projects since 1985. With deep sector know-how and our own software, we strengthen our customers in the long-term – and thus Germany. More than 100,000 users in federal and state authorities, church administrations, educational and research institutions and NGOs rely on our solutions on a daily basis. These institutions benefit from our holistic approach because MACH provides a one-stop solution for software, consulting and execution. Further information is available at www.mach.de.
About Main Capital Partners
Main Capital Partners is a strategic investor with an exclusive focus on the software sector in the Benelux, DACH and Nordics regions. Main has a long-term investment horizon centered around successful partnerships with management teams, with the goal to jointly build larger software groups. Main has approximately € 1 billion in assets under management for investments in mature and growing software companies.
The current portfolio of Main Capital includes rapidly growing software- and SaaS software companies like Alfa (healthcare), WoodWing (content management), Exxellence Groep (public sector), Optimizers (supply chain software), Assessio (talent management), GBTEC (GRC software), Onventis (procurement software), HYPE Innovation (enterprise innovation software), Cleversoft (Regtech software), Enovation (healthcare), SDB Groep (healthcare), Jobrouter (BPM software), GOconnectIT (GIS software), Inergy (business intelligence), MUIS Software (bookkeeping and ERP software), Artegic (marketing automation), OBI4wan (CRM software), b+m Informatik (financial services software), ChainPoint (suppy chain software) and RVC (healthcare). Successful former companies that have grown substantially under the guidance of Main are: Connexys (HR software), Roxit (public sector), Axxerion (facility management software) and Ymor (APM software). More information at www.main.nl
Contact Main Capital Netherlands
Charly Zwemstra (Managing Partner)
Tel: +31 (0) 70 324 3433 / +31 (0) 6 5127 7805
e-mail: charly@main.nl
Contact Main Capital DACH
Sven van Berge Henegouwen (Partner)
Tel: +49 173 4823712
e-mail: sven@mainsoftware.de
