TECHSTEP ANNOUNCES ITS THIRD ACQUISITION IN SWEDEN IN 2017, COMPLEMENTING CUSTOMER OFFERING AND PAN-NORDIC CAPABILITIES
Oslo, Norway, 15 August 2017, Techstep ASA (“Techstep”) has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 51% of Conneqted 365 AB (“Conneqted”) for an aggregated purchase price of SEK 3.5 million (the “Acquisition”). Furthermore, the agreement includes an option for Techstep to acquire the remaining 49% of the shares.
Acquisition complements Techstep’s “Mobile as a Service” (MaaS) offering
Conneqted was established in January 2016 and offers a complete Enterprise Mobility Management (“EMM”) service, including Mobile Security, system design, implementation, mobile device management, maintenance and support. The service is offered together with ecosystem partners Telenor, Tele2, TDC, MobileIron, Citrix, Samsung and the Swedish telecom hardware provider BKE TeleCom AB (“BKE”), the latter a recently announced acquisition (subject to closing) by Techstep.
Headquartered in Karlstad, Sweden, Conneqted has only five employees, but serves large and medium sized corporate customers such as Volvo Cars, Svevia, Nasdaq, SKF, BillerudKorsnäs, Wallenstam, Stockholms Stad and Ekonomistyrningsverket ESV. Conneqted delivered revenues of SEK 8.8 million and an EBITDA of SEK 0.5 million in its first fiscal period from January 2016 to April 2017.
The acquisition of Conneqted is aligned with Techstep’s strategy of positioning itself as a leading Nordic enabler of the digital workplace. While Techstep’s current EMM offering (a part of its total “Mobile as a Service” (MaaS) offering) has been based on VMware, Citrix and Microsoft platforms, Conneqted’s EMM offering is mainly based on the MobileIron platform, thereby complementing Techstep’s existing platform and offering.
Combined with the previously announced Swedish acquisitions of InfraAdvice (EMM specialist) and BKE Telecom (mainly hardware provider), the acquisition of Conneqted gives Techstep the ability to offer a one-stop shop in Sweden, and offer a pan-Nordic delivery model.
“InfraAdvice, BKE TeleCom and Conneqted have combined competencies and sales channels that complement each other and Techstep. With the latest acquisition of Conneqted, we believe we have taken a solid step towards creating a scalable pan-Nordic platform, and answered our customers call for a strong Swedish presence”, says Gaute Engbakk, CEO of Techstep.
New cross-selling opportunities
Techstep’s “Mobile as a Service” (MaaS) offering is a one-stop-shop solution combining hardware, subscription & connectivity, mobile device management, managed services and related software, in addition to financing. The MaaS solution enables enterprises to let employees do their work across mobile devices and locations with a high degree of security and operational stability. For Conneqted, the newly launched MaaS offering opens up new sales opportunities to existing customers.
“We are excited about developing Conneqted further as part of the Techstep group. We firmly believe in Techstep’s mission to make work life mobile through an integrated “Mobile as a Service” offering. There is strong demand for mobility solutions, and we look forward to continue building our customer base with a strengthened offering together with Techstep”, comments Roger Lövgren, Managing Director of Conneqted.
Transaction details
Conneqted is currently owned approximately 32% by Combined Excellence AB and the remaining by four employees through individual private holding companies. The Acquisition comprise all shares held by Combined Excellence AB and the remaining on a pro rate basis from the employee owners.
The purchase price payable at closing of SEK 3.5 million will be settled by SEK 2.3 million in cash and SEK 1.2 million in Techstep shares (the “Consideration Shares”). The Consideration Shares will be issued under Techstep’s current board authorization to issue shares approved at the extraordinary general meeting held on 28 February 2017.
Closing of the Acquisition is subject to customary conditions and is expected to take place at the end of August 2017.
For further information please contact:
Gaute Engbakk, CEO of Techstep: +47 91633281
Marius Drefvelin, CFO of Techstep: +47 95895690
Roger Lövgren, Managing Director of Conneqted: +46 70 589 00 06
Techstep ASA – we make work life mobile
Techstep is positioning itself as a leading Nordic enabler of the digital workplace. Techstep’s unique “Mobile as a Service” (MaaS) offering is a one-stop-shop solution combining hardware, subscription & connectivity, mobile device management, managed services and related software, in addition to financing. The MaaS solution enables enterprises to let employees do their work across mobile devices and locations with a high degree of security and operational stability. Techstep employs approximately 160 team members based in Norway and Sweden, that serve close to 5,000 customers and 460,000 end users across various industries in the private and public sector. Techstep had pro forma sales of approximately NOK 720 million in 2016 and is listed on Oslo stock exchange. For more information, please visit http://techstep.no/.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.