News

VIA equity is pleased to announce the first closing of VIA equity Fund V.

The VIA equity Fund V first closing of MDKK 1,475 (MEUR 200) in July is a successful first step in the fundraising process initiated earlier this year.

Limited partners in VIA equity Fund V are high caliber international brand name investors and other acknowledged organizations.

“The inbound international investor interest for committing to VIA equity Fund V has been and is extraordinary and overwhelming. We are fortunate to be in a situation where the interest seems to be substantially larger than our fundraising target. Accordingly, VIA equity expects to follow the plan with a sequential closing in this ½ year”, says Benjamin Kramarz and continues:

“Simultaneously, we are humbled and at the same time very pleased with the fact that all the important participants in VIA equity Fund IV have committed in this first closing to continue the cooperation with VIA equity in VIA equity Fund V.”

VIA equity’s strategy remains unchanged, and VIA equity has been fundraising on a strong platform of excellent performance for VIA equity Fund II, VIA equity Fund III and VIA equity Fund IV.

The VIA equity Fund V, with a target size of MEUR 250, will finance all new VIA platform investments from today.

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VIA equity Fund IV K/S invests in a majority stake in the Norwegian IT services company, Sonat. Current owners will reinvest alongside VIA in a large minority stake.

Sonat Group is headquartered in Bergen, Norway and focus on senior talent within digitalization and design of IT solutions, employing ca. 110 FTEs. Areas of expertise include Cloud back-end architecture, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality front-end visualization, Data science, Machine learning, Innovation design as well as Low-code/No-code.

“We are very impressed by Sonat’s journey and proud to have been chosen by Jonny Klemetsen and all the amazing people of Sonat to become their future partner for continued growth.”, says Daniel Hallberg, investment responsible at VIA equity.

“We are very excited about our new partnership with VIA equity. VIA has really proven to understand our business model and the fundamental driving forces underpinning a successful IT services firm. In this new constellation we can continue to build on the strong DNA of Sonat and its people and have a strong sparring partner to further accelerate growth and develop our platform.”, says Jonny Klemetsen, Co-founder and CEO of Sonat.

For the press release click here.

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“We are very excited to welcome Steen and the colleagues from Commerze-IT to IT Forum Gruppen. Commerze-IT has gone through an impressive development and in our dialogue with Steen it has been clear that we share the same culture and vision, where closeness and personal relationships mean a lot to both colleagues and customers”, says Jesper Skov Jørgensen, CEO of IT Forum Gruppen.

Steen Nordahl Schmidt will continue as owner in the new setup and both companies will continue to operate as usual, without any material changes for the employees or the customers.

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IT Forum Gruppen and extri:co join forces and expand the joint competencies within Azure, Modern Workplace, Hosting and IT-Security.

“Over the past few years, we have had a dedicated focus on finding local partners in the Danish market to increase our local presence across Denmark and at the same time offer our customers the best specialists in all relevant areas that affect their IT environment, both today and in the future.

That is why we are very happy to welcome extri:co to the group. extri:co are extremely skilled when it comes to Azure and SharePoint and in our dialogue with Svend Lange and Jesper M. Christensen from extri:co, we have found that a combined group will strengthen both companies’ skills when it comes to Microsoft’s Cloud services, Network and IT security. At the same time, extri:co builds on the same values as IT Forum Gruppen, where the personal relationships and proximity to customers are the foundation for the company’s culture”, says Jesper Skov Jørgensen, CEO of IT Forum Gruppen.

Both companies will continue to operate as usual, without any material changes for the employees or customers.

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Cube Infrastructure Managers acquires majority stake in GleSYS. VIA equity Fond III, CEO and Founder Glenn Johansson, key employees and certain minority shareholders have reached an agreement with Cube Infrastructure Fund III, whereby Cube will become new majority shareholder of GleSYS. Glenn Johansson and key employees will reinvest alongside Cube to retain a minority position in the Group.

During the last five years VIA equity has been supporting the amazing GleSYS team in developing the leading Nordic hybrid cloud and Infrastructure as a Service platform, through several add-on acquisitions, ESG initiatives, ISO certifications, datacenter footprint expansion and broadening the management team.

“We are thrilled to see Cube step in as new majority investor together with management and it concludes a very successful investment for VIA” says Daniel Hallberg, Principal at VIA equity.

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Two new independent board members are elected at the annual general meeting of VIA equity a/s replacing two VIA equity employees in the board of directors.

“We are proud to be able to attract Louise Ladegaard and Lars Rohde to our board of directors”, says Benjamin Kramarz, managing partner at VIA equity. “Both Louise and Lars are excellent independent board members bringing relevant complementing skills and backgrounds both to the board and to VIA equity at large. We are looking forward to operating with an independent board of directors in the future”.

John Helmsøe-Zinck continues as chairman of the board.

Contact details:

John Helmsøe-Zinck, Chairman of the Board, +45 40104405,

Benjamin Kramarz, Managing Partner, +45 21749278,

About Louise Ladegaard:

Louise is Director, Strategic Transformation & Group M&A, ISS World Services A/S (from June 2019), and has earlier worked in Corporate Finance in Danske Bank (from May 2011 to May 2019).

Louise holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Copenhagen.

About Lars Rohde:

Lars recently stopped as Chairman of the Board of Governors, Denmark’s National Bank. A position he held from 2013 to 31st January 2023. Lars was earlier CEO at ATP (from 1998 to 2013).

Lars holds a Cand. Oecon degree from Aarhus University.

About VIA equity:

Headquartered in Copenhagen and with an office in Munich, VIA equity is a leading Northern European buy-out private equity firm with an excellent track record of building and transforming investments into national and international industry leaders.

VIA equity invests in companies of all sizes, primarily focusing on companies with a turnover of EUR 10 million to EUR 100 million. VIA equity a/s is the management company for four funds. The latest fund alone has committed capital of EUR 175 million.

VIA equity invests in successful software, IT, internet, and technology companies.

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IT Forum Gruppen has acquired the activities in Curtsen-IT.

“Recognising that more specialist skills are required, for example in IT-security, I have decided that the time is right to become part of something bigger. IT Forum Gruppen is a major player, with offices in Ballerup, Odense and Aarhus, which caters to the same type of customers as Curtsen-IT, and both parties are built on the same values of proximity and propriety. Over the years, ITF has built up expertise in IT infrastructure, and is a specialist in Microsoft 365, hosting, networks and IT security, among other things. Therefore, it was an easy and natural choice to enter into an agreement with IT Forum Gruppen” Says Martin Curtsen, CEO in Curtsen-IT.

Martin Cursten will continue as a consultant in IT Forum Gruppen and will continue to operate as usual, without any material changes for the customers.

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Continia Software has entered into a definitive agreement under which Continia Software GmbH has acquired the DYNAMO PAY solutions from akquinet NEXT GmbH as of 01.01.2023.

With this acquisition Continia extends the range of certified add-ons with another finance solution for Dynamics Business Central and provide better support for customers and partners in the DACH market.

Both parties are excited about this new joint venture. The management and employees of akquinet are thankful for the good partnership and cooperation so far and are pleased to have found Continia as a reliable successor for the DYNAMO PAY solutions. 

Click on the file below to see the full press release in English.

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On the 16th of February, VIA equity will be hosting a workshop for students and young professionals in Munich with the topic “ESG for active owners”. If you are interested in joining, you can find more information here.

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Advania has agreed to divest two data centre leasing contracts to the Nordic data centre provider atNorth AB (“atNorth”) in Finland. Through the divestment, Advania Finland can further streamline its IT-services offering with a best-of-breed partner handling the data centre operations.

The divestment underpins Advania’s ambition to continue to deliver best-in-class solutions to existing and new customers and to become the preferred IT-services provider in Northern Europe.

“An important reason to establish a partnership with atNorth in Finland is their dedicated focus to deliver high quality and sustainable services. We appreciate teaming up with companies with the same customer focus and quality mindset as ourselves, says Atte Kekkonen, CEO of Advania Finland”.

To see the full press release in English click here.

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VIA invests in Decision Focus Partner Holding ApS, a leading GRC (“Governance, Risk and Compliance”) solution provider together with the current management team. 

Decision Focus was founded in 2005, by the current CEO with a clear vision to create one platform for all Governance, Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management needs.  

 “We are thrilled to have found the perfect partner to further accelerate our growth. This was an easy partnership to enter – VIA equity quickly proved to understand not only our product and market but also our team culture and the motivation to build second-to-none GRC products.”, says Jon Tollerup, CEO at Decision Focus.

“We are very excited about our partnership with the Decision Focus management team. We have been very impressed by the user-friendly and easily configurable GRC platform supported by strong talent and impressive customer testimonials.”, says Peter Thorlund Haahr, partner in VIA equity.

VIA equity has acquired a majority stake in Decision Focus Partner Holding ApS. The management team invest alongside VIA and will continue in the positions they hold today.

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CLOUDIO is a leading independent IT infrastructure, storage and back-up specialist delivering secure business-critical IT infrastructure solutions and services that accelerate customers’ digital transformation. With the acquisition of CLOUDIO, Advania seeks to further broaden its offering in Denmark.

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.

“It’s truly exciting to have Thorkil and the CLOUDIO team joining Advania on our growth journey in Denmark. The acquisition underpins the focus on secure, flexible, and efficient storage and backup solutions in an ever-changing cyber environment. We are pleased to have talented specialists joining our team which ensures that employees can continue to develop and thrive, says Carsten Weis, CEO of Advania Denmark.”

To see the full press release in English click here.

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Front End Services enables Advania to personalize the IT equipment before it arrives to the customer, including services like personal email account, delivery, installation of software and repackaging.

The acquisition reinforces Advania’s aim to become the preferred IT service provider in Northern Europe and offer holistic one stop shop solutions to existing and new customers.

“The key reason for pursuing this transaction is to increase the quality to our existing customers. Based on the large volume of devices we provide to our customers, we can now further strengthen our offering with cost efficient and seamless solutions to the market”, says Tomas Wanselius, CEO of Advania Sweden.

To see the full press release in English click here.

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The founder of VIA equity John Helmsøe-Zinck becomes Chairman of the Board as the final part of a three-year succession plan to appoint Benjamin Kramarz as Managing Partner.

“Three years ago, we started the process of appointing Benjamin as Managing Partner, and the steps in the plan involved all in the VIA team throughout the entire period. I am very proud that the process has worked well in all dimensions and we now can announce it broadly. My continued role as Chairman of the Board is a full-time position with normal operationally responsibilities equal to the responsibilities of a partner”, says John Helmsøe-Zinck.

Benjamin Kramarz adds, “This very transparent and well-planned process was John’s initiative alone, thinking strategically ahead well in advance of everybody else. The VIA equity team functions in a superior manner, and an including process like this one has only supported the positive team dynamics further.”

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Advania continues its expansion strategy with the acquisition of the Finnish full-service IT-provider Valtti.

The combined group aims to become the preferred IT services provider in Northern Europe. This combination in Finland allows Advania to offer more specialised and broader services and products to its existing customer base. Furthermore, Advania and Valtti 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 Finnish market.

“It’s a great pleasure to join forces with Atte and the team in Finland. Our future vision is aligned, both on culture and business, that allows us to build a strong mid-market player in Finland where our number one focus is our customers” says Mikael Noaksson, Group CEO of Advania.

To see the full press release in English click here.

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Continia Software acquires GBEDV, a specialist in simplifying the financial processes for users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The GBEDV payment solution, OPplus, simplifies and significantly reduces the daily workload of accounting staff in the DACH market.

“GBEDV truly demonstrates what it means to be a long-term and reliable ISV for Business Central, and we’re very excited to having them join the Continia mission. With Georg Böhlen, his team and solutions, together with the present Continia organization and solutions, we have an amazing team on the German speaking market, and also new solutions we can offer to Continia customers globally,” says Henrik Lærke, CEO, Continia Software.

With this acquisition, Continia Software enables banking in Business Central for more than 7,000 customers worldwide. Everything from managing payments, collecting money, and reconciling bank account statements is possible with the combination of Continia Payment Management and OPplus.

To see the full press release in English click here.

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As the demand for cyber security capabilities continue to rise among Northern European organizations, so does the need for a partner who can take on complex security projects.

With the acquisition of Painkiller AS (“Painkiller”), Advania AB (“Advania”) will cater for the increasing demand by strengthening its offering within security.

Painkiller is a Norwegian-based, fast growing and independent IT-security consulting and software company that was founded in 2019. The team consists of security specialists with extensive experience from multiple industries, both private and public.

The demand from our customers on security is growing and with our new colleagues on board, we have a highly motivated team of world class professionals to further strengthening our offering. Together we will deliver complex and innovative projects adding more value to our current and new customers, says Espen Hartz, CEO Advania Norway.

To see full press release in English click here.

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With the acquisition of Content+Cloud Limited (“C+C”), Advania AB (“Advania”) will leverage the deep cloud and Microsoft knowledge from C+C to offer a highly compelling, future-ready suite of products and services to help customers on their digital journey. This also marks the first strategic expansion outside the Nordics.

The combined group (the “Company”) aims to become the most preferred IT services provider in Northern Europe. The Company will use the commercial strengths, resources, and expertise of both the Advania and the C+C platforms to offer a highly compelling, future-ready suite of products and services to its customer base – enabling a broader, deeper and more differentiated offering, tailored closely to each customer. Furthermore, the combination 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.

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We are pleased to inform that VIA equity won The Private Equity Firm of the Year 2021 award at the annual meeting of Aktive Ejere (formerly DVCA – The Danish Venture Capital and Private Equity Association) November 15^th 2021. At the event VIA equity’s Benjamin Kramarz and Peter Thorlund Haahr received the award.

“The VIA equity team is proud of winning this annual award for the fourth time in our short history. The award reflects more than words the value of the great teamwork in VIA equity and our portfolio companies and the excellent results we have achieved together” says John Helmsøe-Zinck, managing partner at VIA equity.

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IT Forum Gruppen and Support-IT Network join forces and expand the national presence of both companies.

“We have been looking for the right partner to expand our local presence on Zealand and through the dialogues with Peter Hansen and Søren Brandt from Support-IT, we are convinced that we have found the right partner that, just as IT Forum, has a culture and focus on personal relationships and customer proximity. Several of our customers have offices located across Denmark and in cooperation with Support-IT we are certain that we can provide our customers with even better services” Says Jesper Skov Jørgensen, CEO in IT Forum Gruppen. 

The former owners of Support-IT Network, Peter Hansen and Søren Brandt, will continue as owners in the new setup and both companies will continue to operate as usual, without any material changes for the employees or the customers.

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VIA invests in IT Forum Gruppen, a leading IT-outsourcing provider to the Danish SMB segment, together with the current management.

IT Forum Gruppen has more than 30 years of experience from delivering and servicing best in class IT-solutions to small and medium sized Danish businesses. Close customer cooperation and proximity is at the company’s core and is the key to the company’s success in delivering secure, effective and well-functioning IT infrastructure solutions for the Danish SMB segment. The company has c. 50 employees located across Denmark at the company’s offices in Aarhus, Odense and Ballerup.

“We are very delighted to announce this cooperation with VIA equity, who comes with many years of experience from the IT sector. We see a number of opportunities to be able to service our customers even better than today and we are confident that VIA equity can help us on the journey to become the leading Danish IT-supplier in our segment” says Jesper Skov Jørgensen, CEO and co-owner.

“We have followed the IT market closely for many years and particularly the Danish IT services market and observed an increasing demand for highly skilled IT professionals. We are very impressed with Jesper and his team and we look forward to realizing IT Forum Gruppen’s potential together with the management and the company’s employees” says Partner at VIA equity, Benjamin Kramarz.

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Advania continues its expansion strategy with the acquisition of the Finnish IT company Beveric. Beveric is a highly reputable IT infrastructure consulting company, also delivering enterprise document management services in Finland and in the Baltics. The acquisition strengthens Advania’s presence in the region and adds more value to existing customers operating on the Finnish market.

“Advania has achieved a solid market share after entering the Finnish market in 2019. It has become an integrated part of Advania, and we are proud of the progress our team has made. With the acquisition of Beveric, we significantly enhance our professional services offering in Finland and become an even closer partner to existing and new customers.” said Mikael Noaksson, CEO of Advania Group.

To see the full press release click here.

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As part of Advania’s expansion strategy, the company has acquired the Danish IT company Genia. Genia delivers managed services on modern hyper converging IT infrastructure (HCI) based on HPE SimpliVity design and technology. Further, the company has strong competences within Microsoft and Azure, assisting clients with license optimization, security and efficient deployment. The investment in Genia strengthens Advania’s service offering and presence in the Danish market.

“Both our companies have seen significant increase in demand for our knowhow, solutions, and services. Together we can deliver more value to even the most demanding projects. CIOs can rest assured that both their current and future demands can be met by Advania Denmark.” said Kristian Hansen CEO of Genia and Carsten Weis CEO of Advania Denmark in a joint statement.

To see full press release in English click here.

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VIA equity has successfully exited Elogic, a Danish manufacturer of electrical panels to a private investor. 

In 2018, VIA equity acquired Elogic Systems. During VIA’s ownership period the company successfully demerged into the two companies Elogic and Triarca.

Elogic has developed a strong position in the Danish market to both the installation and industry customer segments. Further, the company has improved its margins and processes through an investment into a new IT-platform.

The Company is now well positioned for further growth together with the new owner, who will be actively involved in the daily operations.

(Technically the common holding company of Elogic and Triarca did the exit. Triarca is now after the sale of Elogic the only operative company owned by the holding company).

For further information please contact: Peter Thorlund Haahr: +45 2810 1795

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As part of Advania’s expansion strategy, the company has acquired the Swedish IT company Hi5. Hi5 delivers solutions, products and consulting services in the IT area, with the help of 65 dedicated employees in Umeå and Luleå. The investment in Norrland, Sweden creates new opportunities to provide services to customers with a geographically dispersed business.

“I am pleased to welcome Hi5’s employees and customers to Advania,” says Tomas Wanselius, CEO of Advania Sweden. “We share the passion to be close to our customers and focus on creating value for them. Both Advania and Hi5 have become successful through strong values, committed employees and a uniquely strong customer focus. Now we look forward to working together to make it easy for our customers to grow with the help of IT.”

To see full press release in English click here.

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VIA invests in a minority stake in Advania alongside new investor Goldman Sachs*, management and other reinvesting shareholders.

Advania, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is a leading IT-provider in Northern Europe with operations in Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The company has delivered in excess of 20% growth in each of the past five years reaching a turnover in excess of SEK 5bn, fueled by strong talent, long-term relationships with customers and ongoing megatrends of digitalization.

“We have been invested with Advania for a little more than two years now. It is an excellent company that we look forward to continue working with. The management team and the employees has done an excellent job in creating the leading Nordic IT player, and we are happy to continue the journey with this great team.”, says Benjamin Kramarz, investment responsible in VIA equity.

The new owners aim to accelerate Advania’s growth both organically and through acquisitions.

VIA will invest in Advania through VIA equity Fund IV and sell the minority shareholding in VIA equity Fund III.

*Funds managed by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division

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VIA equity is pleased to announce the second closing of VIA equity fund IV.

Following the first closing of VIA equity fund IV October 2020, the successful second closing is now finalized – and in spite of Covid-19, on schedule.

Managing Partner John Helmsøe-Zinck says, “The inbound international investor interest for committing to VIA equity fund IV has been extraordinary and overwhelming. We were fortunate to be in a situation where the interest has been substantially larger than our fundraising target. Nevertheless we in the VIA team decided not to go beyond our target as we want to stay loyal to our strategy”.

VIA’s strategy is unchanged, and VIA fundraised on a strong platform of excellent performance for VIA equity fund II and VIA equity fund III. A leading private equity analytical firm rates VIA equity fund II among the world best performing buy-out funds with an internal rate of return of 50%+.

VIA equity fund IV will close at the target of EUR 175 million.

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VIA equity together with Finnish Industry Investment have sold Profit Software to the UK-based private equity fund Volpi Capital.

Profit Software is an independent software and consultancy services vendor focusing on banks and insurance companies.

During VIA equity’s ownership Profit Software has shown strong organic- and acquisitive growth together with high profitability. The company has established itself as a leader in the Nordics within digital transformation and insurtech and is well positioned to benefit from continued digitalization of the financial services and insurance sectors. 

“We have been delighted to contribute to Profit’s strong organic growth, alongside supporting a transformative acquisition. This transaction is a testament to the success of the VIA playbook of supporting Nordic IT companies”, says Benjamin Kramarz, Partner at VIA equity and outgoing Chairman of Profit.

“We have had a very successful journey with VIA equity and have appreciated the support that has helped Profit to emerge as a leading digital transformation vendor for Finnish insurance companies and banks.”, says Ilkka Starck, CEO at Profit.

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VIA equity leads the sale of EnviDan to Waterland Private Equity.

EnviDan is a leading company within consultancy and solutions to the water and wastewater sector, with a strong position and unique competences within the water cycle – also in a European perspective. During the ownership of VIA equity, EnviDan has enjoyed high growth and profitability and successfully expanded into the Scandinavian market. With more than 260 specialised employees across 10 offices the Company has established itself as a strong Nordic platform for further growth.

CEO Morten Fjerbæk states: ”Together with VIA equity we have developed our position from being a strong Danish player to being solidly represented in the Scandinavian market.”

“We have been very pleased with our investment in EnviDan. It is a very well-run company with a vision and mission within sustainability that is extremely relevant for customers and business partners. This has been a central part of the success that EnviDan has experienced, along with its capable management and very competent employees. We are pleased that EnviDan is now continuing its impressive growth journey”, says Benjamin Kramarz, partner at VIA equity.

The transaction is conditional on approval from the relevant authorities.

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VIA equity Fund A K/S, a new VIA fund with Unigestion as limited partner, has taken over the ownership of the VIA Adform asset in a transaction with VIA equity Fund I K/S.

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GleSYS bolts on a stock of VMware customers from Core9 hosting, further scaling on its existing infrastructure and organization. This represents the fourth add-on acquisition for the company since April 2020.

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VIA invests in eSmiley, the leading supplier of software solutions for digital self-monitoring and compliance within Food Safety and Food Waste in the Nordics, together with the current management.  

eSmiley’s Food Safety software solution digitalizes all safety and compliance registration and control workflows in professional kitchens and production facilities thereby securing consistent and efficient process management increasing standards for food safety across all relevant industries. The Food Waste software provides a platform for logging food waste and includes an advanced dashboard- and analytics module built in to track sources of food waste, thereby enabling proactive limiting of food waste and improving cost-efficient and sustainable behaviour in professional kitchens and production facilities.

”We are impressed with the management and employees of eSmiley and their ability to spot innovative digital trends and turn them into solutions in a market that develops rapidly, even without giving up on high customer loyalty compared to industry standards. We look forward to execute on the potential of eSmiley in the future together with the management and the competent employees”, says Peter Thorlund Haahr, investment responsible in VIA equity.

VIA and the management plan to execute on eSmiley’s potential, accelerate the current development and further strengthen the company’s market position based on a solid combination of industry know-how, software expertise and financial strength.

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VIA’s portfolio company GleSYS has acquired assets from Cloudonline, thereby strengthening its business and team in the Stockholm region.

Cloudonline is a hybrid cloud specialist managing and advising on IT on behalf of corporate customers. The business will be conducted in a separate legal entity and the Cloudonline team of 5 employees will join the GleSYS office in Stockholm for a joint growth journey.

For full press release click here.

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VIA equity is pleased to announce the first closing of VIA equity Fund IV.

The first closing of VIA equity Fund IV is a successful step in the fundraising process, initiated earlier this year.

Managing partner John Helmsøe-Zinck says: “We are extraordinarily proud that we in the midst of the Covid-19 turmoil, on schedule, have a first closing of our Fund IV”.

VIA’s strategy is unchanged, and VIA is fundraising on a strong platform of excellent performance for VIA equity Fund II and VIA equity Fund III. A leading private equity analytical firm rates VIA equity fund II among the world best performing buy-out funds with an internal rate of return of 50%+.

The VIA equity Fund IV with a target size of EUR 175 million will finance all new VIA platform investments from today.

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Continia has reached an agreement with the official distributor of Continia solutions in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets, CKL Software, to take over all Continia-related activities from 1 August 2020.

From the very beginning, there has been a very strong synergy between the solutions in the CKL Software portfolio and Continia solutions, and the dedicated team at CKL Software has successfully been building a strong relationship with Dynamics Partners in these markets.

To further strengthening the new and existing partnerships with the Microsoft Dynamics partners, Sebastian Radloff from CKL Software will take a role as Country Manager for the German Continia subsidiary.

To see full press release in English click here.

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SEMA Lizenz- und Beteiligungs GmbH acquired WGsystem GmbH on Friday 5 June 2020. The acquisition is adding a complementary software suite to SEMA’s portfolio. SEMA and WGsystem had agreed on a strategic cooperation already in 2016 which will turn into full integration now.

WGsystem is providing contact and address management, calculation tools, accounting, material management, document management and exchange, reporting and mobile work force management as part of its ERP/CRM suite. Typical customers are small to medium companies in the area of construction, building, metal working and other handcraft businesses.

“We have sold WGsystem already to many of our customers in the last couple of years. The connection of WGsystem and SEMA’s solutions enable our customers to become even more efficient and automated in their workflows.” believes Alexander Neuß, co-shareholder and CEO of SEMA.

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On Monday 1 June 2020, GleSYS signed the acquisition of Oulun DataCenter Oy (ODC). The acquisition is in line with the strategy to expand across the Nordics and ODC is an attractive complementary business to GleSYS with a strong regional position in Finland supported by a highly skilled local technical team and a similar offering within Platform as a Service (PaaS) including Virtual private cloud, Colocation and Network & Communication services.

Based in Oulu, Finland, ODC is the leading cloud service company operating two own data centers and delivering data center and cloud services that meet the needs of the most complex businesses.

“I’m very excited for this acquisition and we’ll utilize ODC as a platform for further growth of our cloud and infrastructure operations across Finland”, says Glenn Johansson, CEO and founder of GleSYS.

Closing of the transaction is expected to take place end of June and ODC will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity within the GleSYS Group post the transaction.

To see full press release in English click here.

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On Friday 3 April 2020, GleSYS closed the acquisition of Stockholm Internet eXchange (STHIX). Thereby, GleSYS has successfully further strengthened its service offerings within Network & Connectivity business across the Nordics in line with the strategy of expanding the position as a leading Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) player.

STHIX is a provider of high-speed interconnection between internet service providers (“ISP”) in the Nordics and supplies all kind of ISPs with the ability to join an Internet Exchange, independent of the amount of the traffic. STHIX will continue as a separate business division within the Group and all current employees will continue.

“I’m very delighted we’ve completed this acquisition to further expand our business across the Nordic region”, says Glenn Johansson, CEO at GleSYS.

To see full press release in English click here.

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Continia takes over all Continia-related activities from two local distributors in two strategic important European markets and thereby successfully establishes an increased local presence to support the further growth and internationalization of the business.

Continia has reached an agreement with the Belgium distributor of Microsoft Dynamics add-ons, Dime, to take over all of Dimes Continia-related activities from 1 April 2020.

The acquisition adds four new employees to the Continia organization including a new head of sales in Belgium. The acquisition is an important step towards further expansion of the business in the Benelux region and France.

On the same note, Continia has as of 1 April 2020 taken over all Continia-related activities in Spain and started up a local Continia office to expand the presence in the Spanish and Portuguese markets.

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In reference to announcement of ATP and PFA, that their respective ownerships of VIA fund II and III are sold to a group of internationally acknowledged investors (see the ATP/PFA press release), VIA equity announces the start of the fundraising of VIA fund IV.

“We at VIA equity are obviously extremely proud that well-recognized, top professional international brand names have decided to invest in VIA fund II and III,” says John Helmsøe-Zinck, managing partner at VIA equity a/s.

“And we are as a team both grateful for and humbled by the fact that the same group of internationally acknowledged investors also have committed to invest in VIA fund IV. We realize from the inbound international investor interest during the last twelve months that VIA and the strong performance of VIA are gaining recognition in the broader European investor market and beyond”, continues John Helmsøe-Zinck.

“In other words it is a fantastic head start on the fundraising of the VIA fund IV, and with this good momentum, the fund is likely to close already this year”, he ends.

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As part of Advania’s expansion strategy, the company has acquired the Danish IT company Kompetera, which specializes in IT infrastructure, integration and Managed Services. Advania has operated a sales office in Denmark, but with the Kompetera team on board, the company now offers prioritized services with local presence in the entire Nordic region. Following the acquisition, Advania is present in Denmark with a total of 30 IT specialists.

“With a solid footprint in Denmark, our Nordic platform is complete. Having reached that milestone, we’re eager to build on our 2019 organic growth of 15 percent and 5 billion SEK in sales, and we see numerous opportunities ahead. We are humbled by the fact that no other company offers the same range of services in the Nordics, and proud that the missing piece of the puzzle is in place.”, says Mikael Noaksson, CEO of Advania Group.

To see full press release in English click here.

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Advania acquires Accountor ICT, a long-line IT company within Accountor Group that provides comprehensive business ICT platforms, software and support services. Advania has now over 80 professionals based in Finland, working on digitalization projects and managing critical services for infrastructure organizations all over Europe.

“The demand for digitalization is high and fast-growing. With our new colleagues on board, we have a highly motivated team of world-class professionals. Together we will deliver complex and innovative projects, introducing cutting-edge technologies to the Finnish market. We are ready to add more value to our current and new customers,” says Sami Grönberg, CEO of Advania Finland.

The acquisition is a part of Advanias growth strategy and goal to become the leading partner in IT infrastructure, digitalization and managed services, with operations in all Nordic countries. To get there, Advania focuses on providing functional and comprehensive solutions, using suitable technologies.

To see full press release in English click here.

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Advania Norway has sold the business solutions part of the operation to Columbus; a Danish listed IT services and business applications company. Hence, Advania Norway will focus on IT infrastructure services, Contact Centre solutions and strengthening its position as an independent software vendor for the real-estate market.

“The ERP-market is changing and consolidating. Hence ERP-suppliers need to grow and reach a certain capacity to manage clients of all sizes and complex projects. Columbus has chosen that path while we are stepping away from our previous role as a general Microsoft Dynamics supplier. Instead, we are specializing in supplying IT infrastructure with services and solutions, hardware and software, Contact Centre and PMAx. This is in line with the Advania Group’s strategy, and our assessment of how to achieve the growth we desire,” says Espen B Hartz, CEO of Advania Norway.

The sale includes the Advania Norway’s BS consultant and sales mechanism, customer contracts and obligations. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, effective as of January 6th. Forty-five people will transfer from Advania Norway and become Columbus employees. 

To see full press release in English click here.

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With the second acquisition in two years, Linka Energy Group is now even stronger in the biomass & waste based energy market. A year and a half ago, Linka Energy acquired Swedish Jernforsen Energy and immediately before Christmas the company took over all shares in Weiss.

Weiss is a specialist in advising and servicing biomass and waste based boilers all over Europe and has historically supplied many customized energy plants using both biomass and other waste products. The company continues to own all technical and design rights to the plants that have been built over the years and thus possesses a very detailed system insight that already benefits the company’s customers.

”The acquisition provides Linka Energy Group with a further strengthening of the group’s product portfolio, as well as the knowledge and long-standing special skills that Weiss employees already apply to their existing customers,” says Thomas Gaardbo, CEO of Linka Energy.

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Leading Swedish Infrastructure as a Service company GleSYS announced their expansion with a new datacenter facility in Falkenberg. Large demand for cloud services and sustainable IT operations based in Sweden is behind the expansion investment. The datacenter will be completed in cooperation with Falkenberg Energi and will be production ready second quarter 2020.

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VIA equity invests in SEMA, a leading German CAD/CAM software provider in the timber construction industry.

Located in Wildpoldsried, Germany, SEMA was established in 1984 and has since then developed into a major player with a significant market share in the European timber construction industry. The company employs more than 80 people in various countries and has a remarkable customer base with both small, medium-sized and large companies, in many cases with relationships of more than 15 years.

VIA equity acquired the SEMA group from its private owners together with the current management. In addition, VIA equity invited the German software investor LEA Partners to participate in the acquisition creating a strong syndicate to support the future growth and development of the company.

“In many discussions and during the negotiation process, VIA equity convinced us of their professionalism and know-how in the field of IT and software. Together with LEA Partners, they provide the best fit for achieving the next level of growth and maturity of our group.”, says Alexander Neuss, CEO, current and future co-shareholder of SEMA.

”We have investigated the European market for CAD/CAM software and identified SEMA as the clear market leader with the best and most comprehensive solution, the strongest profile and a huge growth potential. We are very excited to be part of the next phase of SEMA’s growth and continuous development. SEMA’s software supports the digitalization and optimization of processes and data of its customers and the application of the BIM paradigm within the building industry.”, says Sebastian Alexander Maciejewski, investment responsible at VIA equity.

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With the acquisition of Itello, Advania takes a strong position in the IT infrastructure market in Norway.

Inspired by the group’s great success in Sweden and Iceland, Advania Norway in September 2018 announced its entry into the Norwegian infrastructure market. The initiative started with the hiring of several resources from the industry and was reinforced with the acquisition of Stepper.

When Advania now acquires Itello, the footprint in Norway is significantly strengthened and the company will reach annual turnover in infrastructure of more than NOK 600 million in Norway and NOK 2.3 billion on a Nordic basis. Itello’s strong position in the public market is also complementing Advania Norway, which until now has been oriented towards private businesses.

”Advania have an aggressive strategy for growth, both organically and through acquisitions in the Nordic region. Through the acquisition of Itello, we increase our market share significantly in Norway and it feels very exciting to become an even more relevant partner to existing and new customers in Norway”, says CEO Advania Group, Mikael Noaksson.

To see full press release in English click here.

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GleSYS grows in the Västra Götaland region by acquiring BogalNets network infrastructure.

With the acquisition, GleSYS strengthens its offering of network services to companies in Sweden and establishes presence in Herrljunga, Alingsås and Vårgårda. Glesys will continue to develop and manage the broadband services that BogalNet has built up in the region.

The acquisition will supplement GleSYS’ current offering of network services in Sweden and the plan is to continue the focus on high quality customer service and continue the journey as a solid IT infrastructure partner.

To see full press release in Swedish click here.

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VIA equity has sold Hostnordic, a Danish provider of hosting and IT-outsourcing services to the Danish SMB market, to IT Relation.

With VIA equity as co-owner since 2012, Hostnordic has developed into a solid IT-outsourcing and hosting company, supported by an add on acquisition in 2013, amongst other initiatives.

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Advania has acquired the Finnish company Vintor that offers specialized digital customer engagement solutions. The acquisition strenghtens Advania‘s presence in the Nordics and marks the company‘s entry into the Finnish market.

To see full press release in English click here.

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VIA invests in Frida Forsikring Agentur, the Danish insurance agent within latent defect house buyer insurances (in Danish “ejerskifteforsikring”) and newly build house insurances (in Danish “byggeskadeforsikring”), and participates in the establishment of the insurance company Domus Forsikring with a license to underwrite issued by the Danish FSA.

VIA takes part in the ownership of Domus and Frida with a 40% minority interest. Kim Bruhn-Petersen, formerly Topdanmark, becomes chairman of the board of Frida and VIA equity’s Jakob Rybak-Andersen also joins the board.

Frida’s focus is to maximize partner and customer satisfaction by efficient and effective processing of claims while maintaining an attractive quality to price ratio.

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