SoftwareONE and COMPAREX combine

SoftwareONE, a global leading Platform, Solutions and Services company, 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 optimise and manage an estimated €10bn 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 utilising 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 centred 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 optimising customers’ investment in technology. With an exceptional expertise in workforce productivity, COMPAREX is supporting customers during their digital journey towards productivity optimisation.

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 organisation 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 organisation. 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.