Advania to further strengthen its professional services in Norway with the acquisition of eXspend

With the acquisition of eXspend AS (“eXspend”), Advania AB (“Advania”) will continue to build on the highest level of professional services to help customers on their digital journey. The acquisition underpins Advania’s ambition to become the preferred IT-services provider in Northern Europe with a holistic offering to existing and new customers.

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Key transaction highlights

• Advania has acquired 100% of the shares in eXspend from management and other shareholders.
• Advania, with a heritage dating back to its inception in Iceland in 1939, is a leading IT services provider in Northern Europe with operations in Sweden, Iceland, Norway, UK, Denmark and Finland.
• eXspend is a strategic advisory, consulting, and software company, focused on cloud and digitalization in the mid-market in in Norway.
• The transaction allows Advania to scale the professional services capabilities in Norway and continue to build a highly efficient offering within consulting, managed services, product- and software offering.

The Advania group aims to become the preferred IT services provider in Northern Europe. This combination in Norway allows Advania to offer a broader variety of professional services to both the existing customer base and to new customers. Furthermore, Advania and eXspend will create a first-rate workplace for employees, allowing the exceptional talent from both companies to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment and with a decentralised model close to customers in the Norwegian market.

- It’s is very exciting for us to have Hans-Ingar and the eXspend team joining Advania on our growth journey in Norway. The acquisition “fits like a glove” within Advania which ensures that employees can continue to develop and thrive. We see significant opportunities bringing the new capabilities to our customers in the Norwegian market, says Espen Hartz, CEO of Advania Norway.

The relationship between Advania and eXspend has been solid for many years and this is the right time to finally partner up to accelerate the mutual journey ahead.

- After four very successful years building eXspend we are now ready for the next step of our journey. It’s a pleasure to be able to join forces with Advania, who we consider the most attractive IT-services company in Norway. By coordinating the consulting business of eXspend with the skilled consultants in Advania, we will have every opportunity to develop a best in class consulting workplace in our market. Our business will also fit in perfectly with the existing product and Managed Services business in Advania, says Hans-Ingar Løvstad, CEO of eXspend.

The majority of the shares in Advania is owned by a a portfolio company of funds managed by the Private Equity team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

For more information, please contact:

eXspend AS

Hans-Ingar Løvstad, CEO eXspend
E-mail: hans@expend.no
Phone: +47 930 66 096

Advania AB

Espen Hartz, CEO Advania Norway
E-mail: espen.hartz@advania.no
Phone: +47 930 29 688

About Advania AB

Advania is a Northern European IT-services company, with roots back to 1939, operating in Sweden, Norway, UK, Iceland, Finland and Denmark with more than 3,700 employees. The company focuses on helping customers to improve their performance and be a partner in their digital journey, with innovative use of best available IT platforms and services. Advania serves thousands of corporate customers, multinational enterprises, governments and public institutions, large, small and medium-sized companies in all aspects of society.

For further information, please visit www.advania.com

About eXspend AS

eXspend is a professional services company within IT-services with expertise in strategic consulting, project management, software procurement and change- and organizational development. In addition, the company provides IT consultants who specialize in future-oriented technology, cloud solutions and modern operating models. With our staffing unit, we also find the right employment for our customers, temporarily or permanently, for all types of positions and projects. eXspend is located in the Oslo area.

For further information, please visit www.exspend.no

About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Equity

Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of December 31, 2021. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Established in 1986, the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management has invested over $75 billion since inception. We combine our global network of relationships, our unique insight across markets, industries and regions, and the worldwide resources of Goldman Sachs to build businesses and accelerate value creation across our portfolios.

For further information, please visit: www.goldmansachs.com