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Solitea has sold Austrian JET ERP to global US player Aptean. We are just as good at selling as we are at buying, says Cígler

  • 17 Jan 2022
  • 3 minutes to read

Brno, January 17, 2022 – The international IT holding Solitea has kicked off the new year with a major international deal. The company has sold one of its portfolio companies – Austrian ERP solution provider JET ERP. The buyer is one of the most important global providers of enterprise software, Apteanof the US. According to Solitea, the exit was extremely profitable – the investment is said to have appreciated several times over.

Solitea bought JET ERP in 2014. Focusing on small and medium-sized companies in the German-speaking market, JET ERP is a successful provider of information system solutions for the industrial manufacturing and trade segments.

"JET ERP is a well-known and reputable operator in the DACH market and one of the leaders in the field. At the time the company was acquired, it was a very good and strategic purchase. And Aptean believes this is still the case, offering a deal that could not be refused. Our investment has appreciated several times over," says Martin Cígler, Solitea’s boss, on the sale of the Austrian company. The magnitude of the transaction is attested to by the fact that the buyer, Aptean, a company headquartered in the US and operating on several continents, is backed by two of the largest private equity funds, TA Associates and Vista Equity Partners.

"We are just as good at buying as we are at selling," Cígler concludes, adding that Solitea will use the funds to consolidate its position in its existing markets and to further expand. Solitea bought four large IT operators in the last year alone and plans on extending its acquisition streak into 2022. The holding is currently operating in nearly ten countries. Their turnover was up to CZK 2.5 billion last year.

"This successful sale speaks volumes of Sandberg Capital's long-term investment strategy. Our success lies in allocating our portfolios as efficiently as possible so that we can capitalise on the ensuing synergies. And, of course, also in our ability to flexibly take advantage of a good business opportunity once it presents itself. During our time at JET ERP, we succeeded, thanks to our outstanding staff, at building a stable business information system provider that enjoys a very favourable reputation in the Austrian and Swiss markets. We are very pleased to see Aptean, a global player backed by some of the most renowned global private equity funds, take it from here", Michal Rybovič, partner at Sandberg Capital, Solitea Holding’s majority owner, says about the transaction.

About Solitea

Solitea, a.s., is one of Europe's largest ICT solutions providers. The company employs over 1,400 employees in seven countries, serving over 260,000 customers in 15 countries in the European region. This year, the holding expects revenues in excess of CZK 2.5 billion. It has long been one of the fastest growing IT companies in the region. Over the past four years, Solitea has made a number of major IT acquisitions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Solitea has long been strengthening its position as a major European supplier of IT for commercial operators and governments. The majority owners of Solitea are Sandberg Capital, a private equity fund, and Martin Cígler. For more information go to www.solitea.com.

About Sandberg Capital

Sandberg Capital is a management company headquartered in Slovakia. It invests in small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovakia and the CEE region. In January 2021, Sandberg opened its second investment fund. In its first fund, Sandberg Capital manages assets worth over EUR 350 million in the IT, telecommunications, agriculture, education and retail sectors.

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