Tag Archives: Software

Cinven to invest in Drake Software

Cinven

Investment in leading tax preparation software provider

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that it has agreed to make a significant investment into Drake Software (‘Drake’ or ‘the company’), a provider of software for tax preparers. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Headquartered in Franklin, North Carolina, Drake is a leading provider of professional tax preparation software. It provides the tools and resources that tax professionals need to build their businesses and attract new clients. Drake employs more than 600 people across five offices in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. More than 64,000 tax professionals nationwide use Drake, and each year the company processes more than 33 million federal and state-accepted returns. The business was established in 1977 by founder Phil Drake.

Building on its successful investment in Visma, a provider of Enterprise Resource Planning software and services – including accounting, tax and payroll applications – Cinven’s Technology, Media and Telecom (‘TMT’) Sector team worked closely with its US team to identify Drake as an attractive investment opportunity, given:

  • The resilience and stability of the professional tax preparation market;
  • Drake’s best-in-class reputation with its customers, evidenced by its market-leading customer retention rates and high recurring revenues;
  • Its market leading position, with the opportunity for further organic and acquisitive growth; and
  • The quality and breadth of the company’s software, with recent success in cross-selling new products and opportunities for the introduction of add-on products.

Cinven will be working with the highly experienced Drake management team, with Jamie Stiles continuing in his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Drake Software.

Chris Good, Partner at Cinven, commented:

“This is a truly outstanding opportunity for Cinven to invest behind a team that has not only built a product that is loved by its customers, but also has a well-established position in a stable market with a wide range of exciting growth prospects.”

“We believe Cinven is well positioned to support the company through its next stage of growth, especially given its track record of investing successfully in technology-focused companies such as Visma and Jaggaer.”

Daniel Garin, Principal at Cinven, said:

“We are delighted to have the chance to work with Jamie and the Drake management team. We plan to invest behind the company’s growth plans to expand Drake’s presence in the market, renew its technology platform, and enhance its product offerings for the benefit of Drake’s employees and customers.”

Cinven’s investment in Drake builds on its successful track record in TMT, following its realisations of: Visma, a leading business solutions provider, in May 2019; Ufinet Group, a provider of fibre infrastructure and transmission services to telecom operators, in July 2018; and HEG, a provider of hosting and domain services, in April 2017.

Alongside these realisations, Cinven has continued to actively invest in the sector, most recently acquiring: MasMovil, a Spanish telecommunications operator; Jaggaer, a global provider of procurement software for large and medium-sized enterprises; RTB House, a global digital advertising technology provider; and One.com, a leading European web hosting provider.

The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust approvals.

Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal advice to Cinven on the transaction.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. provided legal advice to Drake Software.

Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC acted as financial advisor to Drake Software.

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Idera, Inc. Announces Investment from Partners Group

TA associates

Global Private Markets Investment Manager Acquires Majority Control In Partnership With Current Shareholders And Management

News provided by

Idera

Jan 22, 2021, 07:10 ET

HOUSTON, Jan. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Idera, Inc. (“Idera” or “the Company”), parent company of global B2B software productivity brands, today announced an agreement to recapitalize the Company, with global private markets investment manager Partners Group becoming majority owner, on behalf of its clients. Current shareholders HGGC and TA Associates will continue as significant equity investors moving forward, along with Idera’s management team.

This recapitalization represents the fourth equity transaction for Idera since 2014 and reflects investor confidence in the Company’s innovative business model and M&A expertise.  Since 2014, Idera has grown revenue, bookings, and earnings by more than 10X.  Organic growth from market-leading assets and acquisitions of nearly 20 companies drive the growth and foretell continued investor success.

“Since partnering with TA in 2014, we devoted ourselves to achieving results beneficial to shareholders, customers, and employees,” said Randy Jacops, Idera’s CEO.  “Our business model ensures we focus on customer priorities and attracts great investors who advise our innovations and support our belief that accepting and managing risk encourages creativity and confidence from our team.  I am honored to lead such a great company and look forward to continuing our success with Partners Group and our other investors.”

“When we first met the Idera team, we discovered a company with a unique business model focused on efficiency, reliability and speed, and one that we believed to be an attractive investment opportunity,” stated Hythem El-Nazer, a Managing Director at TA Associates.  “We became fans of Idera’s product mantra of making products easier to use, more scalable and with exceptional quality. This clear focus eliminated friction from the go-to-market process and enabled the Company to focus on the highest value ideas. We are thrilled to continue to partner with Randy Jacops and his management team on the next phase of growth.”

“When we heard the Idera story, we jumped at the chance to invest in the Company as we pride ourselves on partnering with winning management teams to drive success,” said Steve Young, HGGC Co-Founder and outgoing Idera Chairman.

“After we acquired a majority interest in 2017, we worked with Idera to ramp up the acquisition engine and closed over ten transactions in two years. This pace continues with a new deal announced this week and another pending.  We look forward to more success as continuing investors in this great company,” added Neil White, Partner at HGGC.

Partners Group made an initial investment in Idera, on behalf of its clients, in 2019. As described by Hal Avidano, Managing Director at Partners Group, “We are excited to continue our relationship with Idera and expand its strong platform. Over the past 18 months, we became further convinced of Idera’s business model and the significant market opportunity in the sector. Partners Group is a transformational investor and we believe that our thematic and platform-building expertise is an excellent fit for Idera as it capitalizes on these secular trends and achieves further growth.”

Kirkland & Ellis and Horzepa, Spiegel & Associates acted as legal counsel for Idera.  Ropes & Gray acted as legal counsel for Partners Group.  Deloitte acted as accounting and tax advisor to Idera.  Jefferies will act as lead financing partner and M&A advisor for the transaction.

About Partners Group
Partners Group is a leading global private markets investment manager. Since 1996, the firm has invested over USD 145 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. Partners Group is a committed, responsible investor and aims to create broad stakeholder impact through its active ownership and development of growing businesses, attractive real estate and essential infrastructure. With over USD 109 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2020, Partners Group serves a broad range of institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private individuals globally. The firm employs more than 1,500 diverse professionals across 20 offices worldwide and has regional headquarters in Baar-Zug, Switzerland; Denver, USA; and Singapore. It has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2006 (symbol: PGHN). For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Partners Group’s private equity business has an established track record of investing in leading businesses with development potential to generate attractive returns for its clients. With entrepreneurial governance at the heart of its approach, Partners Group’s private equity business aims to build high-performing boards and works together with management teams on targeted value creation initiatives. These enable long-term, sustainable growth, to the benefit of all stakeholders. Partners Group’s private equity business has directly invested in over 240 businesses since inception and today has USD 45 billion in assets under management.

About Idera, Inc.
Idera, Inc. delivers B2B software productivity tools that enable technical users to do more with less, faster. Idera, Inc. brands span three divisions—Database Tools, Developer Tools, and Testing Tools—with products evangelized by millions of community members and more than 50,000 customers worldwide, including some of the world’s largest healthcare, financial services, retail, and technology companies. To learn more, visit: https://www.ideracorp.com/.

About HGGC
HGGC is a leading middle-market private equity firm with over $5.4 billion in cumulative capital commitments. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., HGGC is distinguished by its Advantaged Investing approach that enables the firm to source and acquire scalable businesses through partnerships with management teams, founders and sponsors who reinvest alongside HGGC, creating a strong alignment of interests. Since its inception in 2007, HGGC has completed more than 190 platform investments, add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations and liquidity events with an aggregate transaction value of over $27 billion. More information, including a complete list of current and former portfolio companies, is available at hggc.com.

About TA Associates
TA Associates is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high-quality growth companies. TA has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $3 billion per year. The firm’s more than 100 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

Media Contacts

Partners Group – Clare Burrows
clare.burrows@partnersgroup.com
+1 (212) 908 2708

HGGC – Tom Faust
TFaust@StantonPRM.com
646-502-3513

TA Associates – Philip Nunes
phil.nunes@backbaycommunications.com
617-391-0792

SOURCE Idera

Related Links

https://www.ideracorp.com

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Montagu Private Equity to acquire majority position in ITRS Group from TA Associates

TA associates

Montagu Private Equity (“Montagu”), a leading European private equity firm, today announces it has agreed to acquire a majority position in ITRS Group (“ITRS”), a leading global provider of real-time monitoring and analytics software from TA Associates (“TA”), who will remain a minority holder alongside Montagu and Management.

Completion is expected next month, subject to customary closing requirements. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ITRS’ software portfolio supports the “always on” enterprise, ensuring operational resilience for businesses operating in environments where technology failure means business failure. Headquartered in London, the company has established itself as an innovative and trusted partner, and today has over 3,000 clients across the globe, including nine out of the ten Tier 1 investment banks. In addition, its recent acquisition of Uptrends, a Netherlands-based website and web performance monitoring solution, has further strengthened ITRS’ product suite.

Since its establishment in 1997, ITRS has transformed from a European, single product solution to the capital markets industry, to today providing a comprehensive product suite to customers across a range of industries, including capital markets, telecommunications and healthcare. This has been achieved through impressive organic growth and M&A activity, and Montagu intends to work with the management team and leverage its experience, network and resources to continue to drive growth and further expansion.

Guy Warren, CEO of ITRS, said: “We are delighted to welcome Montagu into ITRS Group. Under TA Associates’ ownership, we have broadened our product suite and significantly expanded our customer base, and we thank them for their continued support. The Montagu team have shown a strong understanding of our business and its potential, and share our ambitions, and we are excited to partner with them for the next stage of growth.”

Christoph Leitner-Dietmaier, Director at Montagu, said: “It is a privilege for Montagu to back Guy and his leadership team, and we look forward to partnering with TA on this investment in ITRS. We are truly impressed by the leading position ITRS has established and are excited to support their vision of becoming the single pane of glass for IT monitoring for the enterprise customer.”

Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA, said: “We have greatly enjoyed partnering with Guy and the entire team at ITRS over the last four years to help drive the company’s growth and expansion. We look forward to collaborating with the ITRS team and Montagu to continue this successful journey.”

The sellers were advised by Jefferies International and Travers Smith LLP. Montagu was advised by Arma Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

About Montagu Private Equity
Montagu Private Equity is one of Europe’s leading private equity firms and has been investing in businesses for over fifty years. Montagu’s investment strategy is focused on partnership with management in buyouts of high-quality companies operating in stable and growing sectors, providing products and services that their customers would badly miss. It develops a shared strategic vision with management and then provides the necessary financial, strategic and operational resources to help realise that vision and support growth. Montagu partners with companies with enterprise values between €200 million and €1 billion and has €8bn assets under management. For additional information on Montagu, visit www.montagu.com

About TA Associates
TA Associates is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, the firm employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $3 billion per year. The firm’s more than 100 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

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bonify acquires loan brokerage software from Joonko AG

Mouro Capital

Berlin-based fintech bonify, Germany’s leading credit rating platform, has acquired the credit brokerage software of Joonko AG. With this acquisition, bonify optimises the distribution and brokerage of consumer loans on its online platform.

With the acquisition of the credit brokerage software, bonify is taking consumer lending to a new level. “By integrating Joonko’s technology, bonify users can apply for a loan and realise long-held dreams faster and easier than ever before”, commented Dr. Andreas Bermig, co-founder of bonify. “The process, starting with the loan comparison and ending with the signing of the contract, takes place completely digitally in just a few minutes”. The new loan brokerage software is expected to be in place as early as spring 2021.

Lending gets faster, easier and completely digital

Anyone who has ever applied for a loan in Germany knows how inconvenient and lengthy the process can be. Discussions and appointments with the bank, the submission of documents such as proof of salary and creditworthiness, as well as the cumbersome verification on site or via PostIdent procedure unnecessarily drag out the application. With the digital account view, the process is optimised and digitalised. “A large part of the more than one million bonify users have already linked their bank account with their own bonify account. The connection enables us to suggest credit offers to our users that are perfectly tailored to their financial situation”, explains Bermig.

The use of the new technology eliminates the need to upload, print and send in documents. Identification and signing are conveniently carried out online. Thanks to the Videoident and eSign processes, the loan application can be completed in just a few minutes from the comfort of your home. All that is needed is an official identification document, such as an ID card, and a video camera. The loan is paid out a few days after the loan agreement has been processed.

bonify – Forteil GmbH | Reichenberger Straße 124 | Aufgang B-5 | 10999 Berlin presse@bonify.de | +49 30 346 466 709

About bonify

The FinTech start-up bonify enables consumers to gain transparency on both credit score and on financial situation. bonify enables users to check their credit score online at any time and free of charge. In addition, bonify offers various financial management tools for the analysis and optimisation of their financial situation. Based on this, users receive product offers tailored to their own creditworthiness – including loans and offers for gas, electricity, or DSL internet. Other free products include ‘tenant information’ for finding accommodation and ‘FinFitness’ for assessing and actively improving financial health. bonify was founded in Berlin in 2015 and is managed by Dr. Gamal Moukabary (Founder), Dr. Andreas Bermig (Founder), Raj Cheemakurti (CPTO), Frank Stowasser (VP Marketing) and Sarah Schuster (VP Growth & Customer Engagement). The startup currently employs more than 30 people from over 15 nations. Renowned investors such as Experian, Santander InnoVentures, Mosaic Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures and DN Capital as well as the founders of Zalando and Raisin have so far invested in bonify. bonify is an account information service approved and supervised by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Learn more at ​www​.bonify.de.

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Capsule Technologies To Be Acquired by Philips

Franciso Partners

Press Release – January 19 2021

Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and healthcare businesses, announced today the pending sale of Capsule Technologies, Inc. (“Capsule”) to Royal Philips (“Philips”) for $635 million in cash consideration.

Francisco Partners’ investment in Capsule helped support the company’s growth and expansion across medical device integration, patient monitoring, and clinical surveillance solutions. Founded in 1997, the company has grown to serve over 2,800 hospitals and healthcare organizations in 40 countries, impacting over 20 million patients annually.

“It has been a pleasure to partner with Capsule’s management team to help grow this important business,” said Chris Adams, Partner at Francisco Partners. “Capsule is a key enabler of the digital hospital, and we have been especially proud of how impactful it has been in supporting global healthcare organizations with the challenges of COVID-19. The team has delivered exceptional growth through constant customer focus and high-quality service.”

Justin Chen, Principal at Francisco Partners, added, “We are thrilled to have helped the Capsule team build their business. They have been at the forefront of delivering mission critical and innovative healthcare solutions to liberate medical data and improve patient safety. The company is in a tremendous position, and we wish the team continued success as a part of Philips.”

Hemant Goel, CEO of Capsule, said, “Francisco Partners has been a supportive strategic partner over the past few years. Their team has been invaluable, executing on the carveout, providing thought leadership, and investing into the business to help us grow rapidly and build an enduring and strategic position. We are very proud of what the entire Capsule organization and employees have been able to accomplish together. We are excited to join Philips and continue our mission of empowering clinicians with simplified workflows and timely, actionable insights.”

Philips and Capsule are long-term partners jointly offering solutions to healthcare organizations globally. The companies share similar values and ambition to improve patient outcomes. The pending acquisition by Philips will allow both companies to enhance the value they provide to their customers and patients. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory clearances in relevant jurisdictions outside of the U.S., and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021. The company with its leadership team and approximately 300 employees will become part of Philips’ Connected Care segment.

Barclays served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Capsule Technologies.

About Capsule Technologies

Capsule Technologies is a leading global provider of medical data technologies for hospitals and healthcare organizations. Our Medical Device Information Platform — comprised of device integration, vital signs monitoring, and clinical surveillance solutions — captures streaming clinical data from connected systems and transforms it into context-rich information for clinical documentation, alarm management, patient surveillance, decision support, predictive analytics, clinical research and more. End-to-end data management and connectivity supports better collaboration and communication between clinicians and departments. More than 2,800 global clients leverage our platform to improve patient safety, simplify workflows and raise overall satisfaction throughout the hospital and across care settings. Learn more at www.capsuletech.com.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch more than 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $24 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

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bonify acquires loan brokerage software from Joonko AG

Mouro Capital

Berlin-based fintech bonify, Germany’s leading credit rating platform, has acquired the credit brokerage software of Joonko AG. With this acquisition, bonify optimises the distribution and brokerage of consumer loans on its online platform.

With the acquisition of the credit brokerage software, bonify is taking consumer lending to a new level. “By integrating Joonko’s technology, bonify users can apply for a loan and realise long-held dreams faster and easier than ever before”, commented Dr. Andreas Bermig, co-founder of bonify. “The process, starting with the loan comparison and ending with the signing of the contract, takes place completely digitally in just a few minutes”. The new loan brokerage software is expected to be in place as early as spring 2021.

Lending gets faster, easier and completely digital

Anyone who has ever applied for a loan in Germany knows how inconvenient and lengthy the process can be. Discussions and appointments with the bank, the submission of documents such as proof of salary and creditworthiness, as well as the cumbersome verification on site or via PostIdent procedure unnecessarily drag out the application. With the digital account view, the process is optimised and digitalised. “A large part of the more than one million bonify users have already linked their bank account with their own bonify account. The connection enables us to suggest credit offers to our users that are perfectly tailored to their financial situation”, explains Bermig.

The use of the new technology eliminates the need to upload, print and send in documents. Identification and signing are conveniently carried out online. Thanks to the Videoident and eSign processes, the loan application can be completed in just a few minutes from the comfort of your home. All that is needed is an official identification document, such as an ID card, and a video camera. The loan is paid out a few days after the loan agreement has been processed.

bonify – Forteil GmbH | Reichenberger Straße 124 | Aufgang B-5 | 10999 Berlin presse@bonify.de | +49 30 346 466 709

About bonify

The FinTech start-up bonify enables consumers to gain transparency on both credit score and on financial situation. bonify enables users to check their credit score online at any time and free of charge. In addition, bonify offers various financial management tools for the analysis and optimisation of their financial situation. Based on this, users receive product offers tailored to their own creditworthiness – including loans and offers for gas, electricity, or DSL internet. Other free products include ‘tenant information’ for finding accommodation and ‘FinFitness’ for assessing and actively improving financial health. bonify was founded in Berlin in 2015 and is managed by Dr. Gamal Moukabary (Founder), Dr. Andreas Bermig (Founder), Raj Cheemakurti (CPTO), Frank Stowasser (VP Marketing) and Sarah Schuster (VP Growth & Customer Engagement). The startup currently employs more than 30 people from over 15 nations. Renowned investors such as Experian, Santander InnoVentures, Mosaic Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures and DN Capital as well as the founders of Zalando and Raisin have so far invested in bonify. bonify is an account information service approved and supervised by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Learn more at ​www​.bonify.de.

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ECI announces investment in CIPHR

ECI

We’re delighted to announce our investment in CIPHR, a leading UK provider of HCM solutions. The investment will support CIPHR to accelerate its ambitious growth and development plans.

CIPHR is a specialist provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) HR, payroll, recruitment and learning software which connects businesses with their employees via an online platform, CIPHR Connect.

The business’ marketplace offering allows its proprietary HR software to be integrated with customers’ existing tools, taking the strain out of HR admin and improving data accuracy. CIPHR supports 300,000 employees across 50 countries globally, with customers including the Met Office, Natural History Museum and Volkswagen.

The investment marks ECI’s fifth investment in 2020. ECI’s previous investments in the SaaS space include Mobysoft, CPOMS, and Fourth.

Chris Berry, CEO, CIPHR comments: “We’re absolutely delighted to be working with ECI as our investment partner for the next stage in CIPHR’s journey. Through our people management platform, CIPHR Connect, we have established ourselves as the UK’s leading mid-market provider of SaaS HCM for organisations who want to integrate their people management software with other, best-of-breed technologies. We have ambitious plans to develop new solutions, broaden our partner offering, cultivate and expand our team of outstanding people, and continue to deliver exceptional products and services that help our customers to manage the entire employee lifecycle more effectively. Our partnership with ECI will help CIPHR to realise these goals.”

Stephen Roberts, Partner at ECI, said: “CIPHR is a high growth business whose services have only become more vital over the course of 2020. We are excited by the opportunity that CIPHR has to strengthen its position in the HCM market, both organically and through M&A. The management team is highly experienced with a proven track record of achieving growth and developing innovative solutions to meet the increasingly complex demands of mid-market organisations. As an experienced software investor, we’re delighted to partner with Chris and the team and look forward to supporting them over the next stage of CIPHR’s journey.”

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inRiver Acquires Detail Online and Powers the Only “Digital-First PIM” Solution

Verdane Capital

Advanced analytics capabilities help solve the revenue challenges industrial manufacturing, retail, and e-commerce teams face in 2021

CHICAGO and MALMÖ, Sweden – – (January 18, 2021) –– inRiver, the solution that empowers organizations to deliver revenue-driving product information management (PIM) across every customer touchpoint, today announced the acquisition of Detail Online, an AI-powered analytics solution to help brands monitor product information across multiple online channels. The acquisition helps power the only digital-first PIM™ solution that drives faster time-to-market and better buying experiences by leveraging the insights needed to optimize content performance and remedy channels or products that are underperforming in real-time.

Commerce today needs to be faster and more agile than ever before to beat the global competition. The acquisition of Detail Online means inRiver’s solution helps bring to life compelling product stories for highly customized products, obtain actionable guidance on what influences buying decisions, and adapt quickly to implement insights.

The Detail Online solution also delivers insights into critical elements including out of stock issues and poor product visibility that impact the ability to sell. Both B2B and B2C organizations can now turn product information into strategic assets to drive revenue.

 

“The addition of Detail Online is an exciting move for our two organizations and offers exceptional analytics capabilities to the inRiver solution,” said Thomas Zanzinger, CEO, inRiver. “We are building a new generation of a product information management solutions to help our customers generate revenue.”

“We are excited about joining the inRiver team,” stated Joakim Gavelin, CEO, and co-founder, Detail Online. “The world of digital commerce is changing faster than ever before and engagement intelligence plays a significant role in understanding how and where to sell more products. The combined solution helps to solve tomorrow’s commerce challenges.”

The acquisition brings the number of global inRiver employees to more than 240 and provides an entry into the APAC region. The combined organization will further strengthen global customer service and support to serve customers worldwide.

 

About inRiver

inRiver empowers organizations to deliver revenue-driving product information at every touchpoint. inRiver’s digital-first PIM™ enables organizations to bring compelling product stories to life for highly customized purchases, obtain actionable guidance on what influences buying decisions, and then quickly adapt to put insights into action. inRiver helps B2B and B2C organizations turn product information into strategic assets to drive revenue for over 1,500 brands and 500 customers globally. Headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, inRiver has offices in Chicago and Amsterdam. For more information, visit inRiver.com

 

About Detail Online

Detail Online helps brand manufacturers take control of their product visibility in online reseller channels worldwide. Detail Online’s AI-powered technology audit reseller activity and takes the guesswork out of digital merchandising by delivering insights that are granular, highly accurate and immediately actionable. Detail Online do daily audits at 1000 retailer websites and Marketplaces globally, across 76 countries. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with a large Technology Centre located in Davao in the Phillipines. For more information, visit Detail Online.

 

Press contacts

For US
Erika Goldwater
Erika.goldwater@inriver.com
+1 617 407 3578

For EMEA
Katja Doemer
Katja.doemer@inriver.com
+49 151 52846868

 

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Breens Network acquires Educator

Capital-A

AMSTERDAM, 17 JANUARY 2021 – With the recent acquisition of software developer Educator, Breens Network has strengthened its position as a provider of secure and reliable educational working and learning environments which allow students, staff, teachers and managers to maximise the efficiency of their digital infrastructures and achieve maximum result in supporting personal development.

– Acquisition of Educator strengthens Breens Network’s digital working and learning solution.
– Expanding the range of integrated digital solutions to improve life long learning and personalized education.
– Strengthens the position of Breens Network in their mission to unburden education by offering support in their digital transformation to a secure digital working and learning environment

Breens Network was originally set up from the ambition of innovating the Dutch educational system through the implementation of new and established technologies. In our day and age, entire generations of students, teachers, staff, managers and directors are experiencing the transition from physical to digital, a process taking place within a dynamic environment which requires increased management of ongoing professionalisation, personalised learning from the cloud and socially relevant curricula, with safety and privacy also calling for new levels of attention. At the same time, there are several other challenges as well, due to the shortage of teachers, high workloads and overcrowded classrooms.
Breens Network, the new name for what was formerly known as Kofschip Groep, is a Dutch EdTech organisation, committed to the field of education and everything related to learning and teaching. Our primary objective is to support our customers in dealing with the process of digital transformation, helping them to increase their effectiveness, the quality of their output, their (cost) efficiency and the flexibility of their organisations. In doing so, we operate from the vision that the technology and advice we provide, unambiguously contribute to our customers achieving their organisational or personal targets. With the ultimate goal of making life as easy as possible for the educational institutions we support.

“Breens Network’s strength is a result of its total commitment to the field of education and the concept of lifelong learning. Now more than ever, there is a profound need for guidance and advice, for development, implementation and management. In short, there is a need for trust. The acquisition of Educator marks a significant broadening of our range of services and a substantial reinforcement of our working and learning environment, particularly in terms of its safety and reliability.”
Geert-Jan van der Snoek
CEO Breens Network

Educator was created in 2005, as part of the Putten-based Vanenburg Group, a family-owned investment group founded by Jan Baan. “We started Educator 15 years ago from our vision of ‘lifelong learning’. Today, we represent a highly innovative and market-leading software platform with its own dedicated SIS solution, a Student Information System for the education industry”, explains Paul Baan, speaking for the Vanenburg Group. “We see Breens Network is the ideal long-term partner, perfectly positioned to leverage the strength of Educator in providing a robust solution and driving advanced digitisation, unburdening of educational institutions and exploring additional opportunities in decentralised government and other markets.” “It allows us to focus more on our fast-growing software activities in the field of ERP optimisation, while also expanding the exploitation of Vanenburg Castle as a hotel, restaurant, convention centre and wedding venue.”

Educator is a developer of software applications for educational and decentralised government institutions, contributing, with the solutions it offers, to well organised schooling and effective student support. This way, the organisation has, since as early as 2005, broadened the options for personalised education. Committed to reliable and consistent development and management of software to help continuously improve and redefine the key processes of its customers. It makes Educator one of the most innovative Dutch software developers in the industries of education and healthcare and the market of decentralised government.

For Educator, joining the Breens Network organisation opens up new and improved opportunities for growth and a broadening of the options offered by the digital working and learning environment. “Our educational solutions, like the Student Information System, the Education Catalogue and the Study Guide, are an excellent addition to the products and services offered by Breens Network. Together, we can be successful in further strengthening our position in the market for digital working and learning environments. It also allows us, in cooperation with our customers, to speed up the ongoing process of re-innovating our solutions, while the operational scope of the Breens Network organisation provides the communities we serve with the certainty of continuity. This is all very good news, both for our customers and for the employees of Educator”, says Jan Jaap Kanis, General Director of Educator. “One of the key challenges educational institutions are facing, is adequately, proactively and flexibly meeting students’ requirements. To be able to do this, what you need is not only a partner who can offer practical know-how, you need a partner who can create cooperation and encourage the sharing of knowledge.”

About Breens Network
Breens Network was originally set up from the ambition to innovate by using both new and established technologies. Today, with SLBdiensten, IT-Workz, Slim.nl, MBOwebshop.nl, Slimindeklas.nl and Breens.nl, the organisation offers a distinctive and distinguishing brand portfolio. Breens Network is a Dutch ICT-organisation, committed to its customers in education, healthcare and decentralised government. It is our goal to support them in the process of digital transformation, helping them to increase their effectiveness, the quality of their output, their (cost) efficiency and the flexibility of their organisations. Operating, as we do, from the vision that the technology and advice we provide, unambiguously contribute to our customers achieving their organisational or personal targets. And making the best possible use of our extensive digital and technological expertise, complemented with in-depth knowledge of the markets we operate in. The professionals employed by our organisation are a guarantee for effective and excellent partnerships. Together, they look after the needs of over one million students, 90,000 teachers, 40,000 staff members and virtually all of the Dutch schools in higher and secondary vocational education. Focus, in Breens Network’s operations, is on four central areas of competence: the digital working (and learning) environment, cloud migration & management, IT Security and Business Intelligence data apps. The company employs a total of 160 enthusiastic professionals. Its head office is in Amsterdam.

About Educator
Educator develops software applications for educational and decentralised government institutions, contributing, by doing so, to well-organised schooling and effective student support. This way, the organisation has, since as early as 2005, broadened the options for personalised education. From demand management and flexibilisation to formative evaluation, Educator has seen many new trends in the education industry. And through it all, by continuing to communicate with the institutions we have been working with over the years, we have become a genuine education partner, offering valuable practical expertise. The communication we have with the institutions we support, takes place on all levels of the organisations, covering operational, tactical and strategic issues. Apart from this, we actively promote dialogue between educational institutions in various forms of consultation forums, like user groups, steering committees and an Advisory Board. Here, we discuss not only topics related to our software and its ongoing development, but also the future of education in general and the role Educator can continue to play in particular.
Educator products are being used on a daily basis by thousands of students and educational professionals in secondary education, high schools, third level education and private schools. One example of the widely used Educator applications is the Student Information System, a tool allowing students, counsellors and other interested parties to monitor progress in the acquisition of skills and competencies. There is also a dedicated Educator design tool, which lets educational staff create and analyse optimally coherent education programs. And for easy documentation and presentation of these programs, Educator offers the Education Catalogue tool.

About Vanenburg Group
Vanenburg Group is a family-owned investment group established by Jan Baan, Chairman of Vanenburg Group, founder of Baan Company and Cordys and a successful investor in TopTier and WebEx. Today, operational executive authority is shared by a second-generation management team, consisting of the three brothers Paul, Ardjan and Bernhard Baan. As a software provider, Vanenburg assists large and medium-sized businesses in updating their IT-infrastructures by developing innovative ERP extensions & integrations. Vanenburg Group employs a staff of over 100 expert professionals in The Netherlands and India. The company operating from the authentic17th century Vanenburg Castle and Estate, located near the city of Putten in the Dutch province of Gelderland. This unique location also serves as a hotel, restaurant, convention centre and wedding venue.

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Oqton raises $40M Series A financing round

Fortino Capital

Ghent, Belgium / San Francisco, USA – Oqton, Inc., the U.S.- and Belgium-based software company specialising in AI-powered solutions for the manufacturing industry, today announces that it has raised over $40M in a Series A financing round, led by Fortino Capital, a leading B2B software investor, by PMV, the regional Flemish investment fund, and by Sandvik, a global engineering group. The founding team (Samir Hanna and Ben Schrauwen) and several angel investors, including Carl Bass (former CEO Autodesk), Dries Buytaert (Drupal and Acquia), and Peter Mercelis (Layerwise) also participated in the round. The financing will be used to further develop its platform, while expanding its commercial partnerships in multiple domains and verticals (Additive manufacturing, Robotic welding, CNC machining).

Oqton’s platform is unique in that it combines several manufacturing software capabilities (CAD, PLM, CAM, IOT, MES, QMS) into a single platform, enabling an unprecedented degree of AI-powered automation and optimization. Users can automatically capture expert knowledge and eliminate repetitive tasks, access technologies remotely and across multiple sites, and optimize production planning to improve utilization and quality.

Samir Hanna, Oqton’s Co-Founder and Chairman, said: “We can already achieve 100% automation in the dental and jewelry verticals, resulting in 30% overall cost reduction. Given the platform strategy, the software can be targeted to many specific industry verticals, like dental, jewelry, medical, industrial and aerospace, as well as to different personas and workflows within those industries.”

Being fully integrated, users can also link the platform to their traditional technologies, such as CNC, welding, and post-processing machines for a truly end-to-end manufacturing solution, making their processes faster, more adaptable, and more cost-effective. Oqton has already established partnerships with EOS, Sisma, Trumpf, Prodways and Sandvik.

Oqton’s Co-Founder and CEO, Ben Schrauwen, said: “We are keen to have new investors on board who can help us scale globally, with both a direct and indirect sales approach. We truly think the time has come for the manufacturing space to embrace the cloud and we are working hard to facilitate this.”

This funding round coincides with the announcement that Ben Schrauwen, Oqton’s CTO, will be taking over as CEO. Samir Hanna, Oqton’s Co-Founder and leaving CEO, will become Executive Chairman.

More on Oqton in today’s article in Belgian newspaper De Tijd (Dutch version only).

About Oqton
Oqton develops AI-powered manufacturing solutions to allow manufacturers to manage, optimize, and automate their additive manufacturing workflows. Their software offering is a secure, cloud-based platform that links data across the complete manufacturing ecosystem – from design to production to logistics. Founded in San Francisco, Oqton is based in Ghent, Belgium, with offices in the US, China and Denmark.

About Fortino Capital Partners
Fortino Capital Partners is a Benelux-focused enterprise software investor with a pan European reach. Fortino Capital invests in both Venture Capital and Growth private equity assets. With offices in Antwerp and Amsterdam, Fortino Capital’s investment portfolio includes Teamleader, Insided, MobileXpense, Efficy CRM, Sigma Conso and iObeya among others.

About PMV
PMV is a do and dare company that shapes the economic future of Flanders. PMV finances promising companies from the very start to growth and internationalization. PMV offers tailor-made financial solutions for every entrepreneur with a solid business plan and a strong management team, by providing venture capital, loans and guarantees. An experienced and highly motivated team of 125 professionals endeavors every day to achieve the goal of creating prosperity and well-being in Flanders. PMV has a portfolio of about € 1.3 billion in assets under management.

About Sandvik Group
Sandvik is a high-tech and global engineering group offering products and services that enhance customer productivity, profitability and safety. Sandvik holds world-leading positions in selected areas – tools and tooling systems for metal cutting; equipment and tools, service and technical solutions for the mining industry and rock excavation within the construction industry; products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys as well as products for industrial heating. In 2019, the Group had approximately 40,000 employees and revenues of about 100 billion SEK in more than 160 countries within continuing operations.

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