PRESS RELEASES
TECHONDERNEMERS LANCEREN INVESTERINGSFONDS DEC-ALLIANCE
Nieuw, alternatief lange-termijnfonds investeert direct in innovatieve IT-bedrijven Avisi en iDalko
Den Bosch, 9 juli 2024 – Vandaag kondigt het nieuw opgerichte investeringsfonds DEC-Alliance (Dutch Entrepreneur Continuity) de investering aan in softwareontwikkeling- en consultancybedrijven Avisi en iDalko. Daarmee lanceert het Nederlandse initiatief zijn ‘evergreen’ fonds voor techdiensten die van vitaal belang zijn voor de Nederlandse economie. Het doel is om deze ondernemingen langetermijncontinuïteit te bieden, wat bijdraagt aan de soevereiniteit van vitale Nederlandse (IT-) bedrijfsketens, processen en infrastructuur.
DEC-Alliance is geïnitieerd door Erik Leus en geïnspireerd door de Nederlandse techondernemer Ludo Baauw van Intermax Group, die als ambassadeur aan het initiatief is verbonden. Vanaf nu zijn Jan Bakker, Barri Jansen en Gert-Jan van de Streek, de oprichters en grootaandeelhouders van Avisi en iDalko, met hun ondernemingen tot de DEC-Alliance toegetreden.
DEC-Alliance is een alternatief voor reguliere private-equity-fondsen. Het doel is om continuïteit te borgen voor de belangrijke stakeholders in bedrijven, zoals klanten, medewerkers, samenleving en aandeelhouders. Dit gebeurt op een manier die geleidelijke toetreding en investeren in gezonde groei faciliteert, maar zonder exit-druk of focus op kortetermijnwinst, en met behoud van de menselijke maat en bedrijfscultuur.
Het fonds richt zich op gevestigde bedrijven met bewezen innovatievermogen en groeipotentie. Het gaat om ondernemingen met de wens om samen te werken in een groter ecosysteem. Hierbij richt de DEC-Alliance zich onder meer op toonaangevende Nederlandse technologiebedrijven actief in software, data, cybersecurity, managed services en cloud-dienstverlening of in specifieke marktsegmenten en digitale ketens.
Investeringsfonds door en voor ondernemers met relevantie voor Nederland
De DEC Alliance is opgezet en gefinancierd door en voor succesvolle ondernemers, die continuïteit zoeken voor hun levenswerk. Een belangrijk uitgangspunt daarbij is dat IT voor vitale bedrijfsprocessen en infrastructuur in Nederlandse handen blijft. Vanwege de geopolitieke ontwikkelingen en machtspositie van big tech is het cruciaal om een alliantie te vormen om tegenwicht te bieden en controle te houden over technologie, digitale ketens en data. DEC-Alliance stelt ambitieuze Nederlandse marktpartijen met zijn evergreen fonds en de samenwerkingsalliantie in staat om deze continuïteit te bieden.
Investering in Avisi en iDalko, meer bedrijven volgen
Zusterbedrijven Avisi en iDalko zijn de eerste twee bedrijven die via een minderheidsbelang zijn toegetreden tot DEC-Alliance. Avisi is vooruitstrevend op het gebied van softwareontwikkeling en IT, voor klanten als KNB (Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie), HDN (Hypotheken Data Netwerk) en ECH (Elektronische Communicatie Hypotheken). Daarnaast ontwikkelt het geavanceerde data-, hyperautomation- en AI-toepassingen in bijvoorbeeld de communicatie, zorg, financiële- en nutsvoorzieningen. Vrijwel elke Nederlander komt één of meerdere keren in aanraking met software die door Avisi is ontwikkeld.
iDalko biedt, als zelfstandige zusteronderneming van Avisi, consultancy voor digitale samenwerking met software van snelgroeiende softwareplatformen zoals Atlassian en Monday.com. Samen markeren Avisi en iDalko de start van verdere investeringen door de DEC-Alliance.
“We zijn trots dat we een bijdrage mogen leveren aan de toekomst en continuïteit van Avisi en iDalko. Zij steunen het gedachtegoed van DEC-Alliance”, stelt Erik Leus, initiatiefnemer en managing partner van DEC-Alliance. “We zien en spreken veel gelijkgestemde IT-ondernemers die zich verantwoordelijk voelen voor de langetermijntoekomst van hun bedrijf en stakeholders. Ons doel is hen te verbinden en duurzame groei te faciliteren met een langetermijnhorizon, maar met behoud van de eigen identiteit. We zijn de investeerders in DEC-Alliance dankbaar voor het vertrouwen om op deze manier van start te gaan.”
“DEC-Alliance toont de potentie om het verschil te maken voor de BV Nederland,” aldus Jan Bakker, CEO van Avisi. “Techbedrijven hebben behoefte aan continuïteit, innovatie en groei, zonder kortetermijndruk op een meerderheidsbelang of een snelle exit. Het onderscheidende model van DEC-Alliance zet in op continuïteit. Ik kijk dan ook uit om samen te werken met het fondsmanagement en andere DEC-ondernemers, zodat we gezamenlijk onze marktpositie versterken.”
Avisi: https://www.avisi.nl/
iDalko: https://idalko.com/
Voor vragen neem contact op met:
Nathan Kotek, Partner at DEC-Alliance
+31 6 330 46 125
ROYAL EIJKELKAMP PARTNERS WITH ENTERPRISING FINANCE TO FINANCE ITS GROWTH AMBITIONS
April, 2023
Shurman Tech M&A is pleased to have advised Royal Eijkelkamp, a distinguished global provider of soil and water research technology solutions.
A remarkable company that maintains its 112-year heritage as a family-owned business while adopting and commercializing cutting-edge innovation. Royal Eijkelkamp aims to become the world's leading supplier of comprehensive technology solutions for soil and water research, consistently contributing to a safe and healthy environment and society.
The financial facility offered by Enterprising Finance is the ideal tool for Royal Eijkelkamp at this stage of its growth. It will support the company in achieving its expansion objectives, enhancing Eijkelkamp's global growth and cementing its position as the preferred supplier of soil and water research tools and data.
On behalf of the Shurman team, Edwin Bakker expresses his appreciation for the opportunity to collaborate with the Royal Eijkelkamp executive team, including Joep Hillegers, CFO, Huug Eijkelkamp, CEO (4th generation), and Fons Eijkelkamp, former CEO (3rd generation). Shurman is looking forward to assisting Royal Eijkelkamp with its future financing requirements and growth opportunities.
Furthermore, Shurman is grateful for the cooperation with Enterprising Finance, TIC Advisory, and JB Law in making this partnership a reality.
For more information, please contact:
Edwin Bakker, Associate Director
mobile: +31 6 51 90 49 44
email: edwin@shurman.com
website: www.shurman.com
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Barbara Strozzilaan 201
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
CREDION AND FUNDION JOIN FORCES WITH FINCH CAPITAL TO STRENGTHEN EU SME LENDING PLATFORM
November, 2022
Shurman Tech M&A and Financing is pleased to announce that it supported Credion's and Fundion's management and shareholders in facilitating an € 8 million growth financing round with Finch Capital.
Credion (founded 2001), a household name (billion-plus annual loan volume) in Dutch SME Lending Advisory, and Fundion (founded 2017), a Loan Servicing Platform Pioneer for Financiers, join forces with Finch Capital.
The combination blends Credion's local SME loan advisory formula with Fundion's front-to-back lending platform proposition. It provides a highly scalable value proposition covering the entire financing chain from SME Entrepreneur to Advisor to Financier. The partnership differentiates by preserving and increasing local customer intimacy, often lacking or non-existing with peer digital SME lending platforms. All to provide SME Entrepreneurs with the best transparent and tailored advisory and financing from selected Financiers within their national context.
The clustering will serve a pan-European SME customer base with the ambition to enter four new European countries within four years. The combination recently started its new EU roll-out in Belgium. The newly appointed CTO and CMO will further build the omnichannel and hybrid digital platform environment serving SME entrepreneurs, advisors, and financiers.
Carlo van der Weg, CEO at Credion: "The management team of the new combination is very pleased with Shurman's multifaceted support. The collaboration included facilitating the merger and supporting the building of the fundamentals for the joint companies' business plan. Lastly, selecting a specialized fintech investor to help fulfil the joint team's EU ambitions. We thank Erik, Mark and Nathan for their dedication and for bringing Finch Capital on board as our growth partner."
For more information, please contact:
Erik Leus, Managing Partner
mobile: +31 6 51 14 98 92
email: erik@shurman.com
website: www.shurman.com
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Barbara Strozzilaan 201
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
ALBELLI AND PHOTOBOX MERGE TO COMPETE IN EUROPEAN PHOTO PRODUCTS MARKET
January, 2022
Shurman Tech M&A and Financing is pleased to announce that it has supported albelli's management team in the recent transaction with Photobox.
Two of Europe’s biggest names in personalized photo products have combined. albelli (owned by Gilde Buy Out Partners) and Photobox (owned by Exponent), announced a merger creating what it calls a “leading player in the online European Photo Product and Gifting market.” Gilde and Exponent will retain ownership of the combined business together with the management teams of both businesses.
The combined company will serve a pan-European customer base of more than 7 million customers, supported by 1,150 employees across the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Norway, and Sweden. albelli and Photobox enjoy complementary business strategies and a shared focus on customer satisfaction and employee engagement. Albelli, formerly known as Albumprinter, was purchased from Cimpress by Gilde Out Partners in 2017. The company bought France’s Monalbumphoto SAS from Métropole Télévision S.A. in 2018.
In a statement, the companies claimed the “combined business will benefit from sharing best practice knowledge, streamlining procurement and supply chain processes, and the scale of a larger group. In addition, the merger will allow both businesses to accelerate strategic initiatives to better serve customers, including its focus on mobile apps. The existing consumer brands, including Photobox and albelli, will remain, given their strength in their respective markets. Over time, customers will enjoy an increased product portfolio and improved customer experience.”
A new group management board has been established to govern the combined business and ensure a smooth integration process, comprising Tristan Money (CEO albelli), Dan Mucha (CEO Photobox), Leon Kerckhaert (CFO albelli), and Jon Mitchell (CFO Photobox).
For more information, please contact:
Mark van der Horst, Partner
mobile: +31 6 511 85 104
email: mark@shurman.com
website: www.shurman.com
Spaces Zuidas
Barbara Strozzilaan 201
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
PAX8 ACQUIRED EUROPE-BASED TVG TO EXPAND ITS CLOUD SERVICES REACH AND PUT ITS FEET ON THE GROUND IN SEVERAL BALTIC COUNTRIES
January, 2022
Shurman Tech M&A and Financing is pleased to announce that it has supported Pax8's management in the recent transaction with TVG.
Pax8 has acquired Europe-based TVG to expand its cloud services reach and put its feet on the ground in several Baltic countries. Headquartered in Riga, Latvia, TVG has more than 20 years of experience as a cloud service and software distributor and serves more than 1,000 partners. The company is an authorized Microsoft CSP Indirect Provider with a vast solutions portfolio including Adobe, Corel, Altaro, TeamViewer, ManageEngine and several other industry-leading global technologies.
“Europe is a continent with different cultures, languages, currencies, and all that. One of our dreams, and our vision, is to offer localized support to every IT service provider in Europe,” Harald Nuij, managing director of Pax8 Europe. Denver-based born-in-the-cloud distributor Pax8 has been operating as a central model in Europe with 17 spoken languages to serve its European customers, he said, but there’s been a growing demand from the Baltic region. “We do feel that this is the moment to step in with a local team and local support, bringing these MSPs to the next level,” Nuij said.
In July, Pax8 acquired Resello, a cloud services distributor specializing in making as-a-service easy to understand, sell, and manage, expanding to more than 40 European countries.
For more information, please contact:
Mark van der Horst, Partner
mobile: +31 6 511 85 104
email: mark@shurman.com
website: www.shurman.com
Spaces Zuidas
Barbara Strozzilaan 201
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
ONE TWO CAPITAL ACQUIRES A MAJORITY STAKE IN WELTEN
May 31, 2021
Shurman Tech M&A and Financing is pleased to announce that it has exclusively supported Welten's shareholders and management in the recent transaction with One Two Capital. Last week, investor One Two Capital acquired a majority stake in Welten Group, the platform environment for the adaptive professional. The Welten Group includes:
Welten, a leading financial secondment company
Dukers & Baelemans, a financial training institute and
Hubper, a digital learning platform.
Chris Baelemans (CEO of the Welten Group) is very enthusiastic about Shurman's role as corporate finance advisor: "I worked with many corporate finance firms in the past, but the Shurman team is in a league on its own. They are extremely knowledgeable, have years of experience in M&A, and have an extensive industry network. But above all, Shurman is different because of its out-of-the-box approach to the market, a creative vision on positioning, and a sharp eye for the company's opportunities. Moreover, they are better equipped than others in aligning all stakeholders' interests while maintaining the human dimension and outperform expectations."
Welten, with the support of Shurman, was looking for a partner to accelerate growth. This growth ambition is focused on further developing the platform environment for adaptive professionals and expanding its services. Erik Leus (managing partner at Shurman) is convinced that Welten can realize this ambition with the support of One Two Capital.
One Two Capital was founded by entrepreneur Casper Bannet, former CEO and founder of secondment agency Aethon, and experienced hands-on private equity investor Arthur Wolff. "One Two Capital's approach as an entrepreneurial private equity investor is unique. The combination of Chris Baelemans' inspirational leadership and One Two Capital’s active support offers Welten great opportunities for accelerated growth, both organically and through targeted acquisitions. This makes One Two Capital the perfect partner for Welten to fulfill its ambitions," says Erik Leus.
For more information, please contact:
Mark van der Horst, Partner
mobile: +31 6 511 85 104
email: mark@shurman.com
website: www.shurman.com
Spaces Zuidas
Barbara Strozzilaan 201
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands