News

VIA equity announces the first closing of VIA equity Fund V

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 invests in Sonat

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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IT Forum Gruppen and Commerze-IT join forces

“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

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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VIA sells GleSYS to Cube Infrastructure Managers

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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Louise Ladegaard and Lars Rohde are elected new board members of VIA equity a/s

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 AND CURTSEN-IT JOIN FORCES

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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DYNAMO PAY becomes a Continia Software solution

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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Workshop: ESG for active owners

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 divests two data centres in Finland

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

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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Advania acquires the Danish based IT infrastructure specialist Cloudio

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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Advania acquires Front End Services

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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Advania acquires the Norwegian based IT consultancy eXspend

With the acquisition of eXspend AS, Advania will continue to build on the highest level of professional services to help customers on their digital journey. eXspend is a strategic advisory, consulting, and software company, focused on cloud and digitalization in the mid-market in in Norway.

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 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.

To see the full press release in English click here.

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Advania acquires the Microsoft Dynamics specialist Azzure IT

Advania has completed the acquisition of Azzure IT Limited, a leading UK-provider of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, with a strong customer base and highly experienced management team.

The acquisition establishes Content+Cloud (Advania UK) as one of the largest Microsoft Dynamics Business Central providers in the UK, alongside its leading Microsoft Cloud practices, including Modern Work, Azure, Cyber Security, Employee Experience (Viva & Fresh Intranet), PowerApps, and Teams voice solutions and services.

“Together with Azzure IT, we are able to truly lead across the whole of the Microsoft ecosystem. While Dynamics has always been an important part of our capabilities, we have now fundamentally changed the scale at which we can deliver and lead in Dynamics solution implementation, integration and IP development space,” says Peter Sweetbaum, CEO of Content+Cloud (Advania UK).

To see the full press release in English click here.

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Bregal Unternehmerkapital acquires a majority stake in SEMA Software

The existing shareholders VIA equity, LEA Partners, and the CEO, Alexander Neuß, have decided to further accelerate the growth of SEMA, with Bregal Unternehmerkapital joining as the new majority shareholder. As part of the transaction, VIA equity and the management will co-invest.

Founded in 1984, SEMA offers solutions covering the full range of activities around timber and stairs construction for carpentries and prefabrication firms. With a significant market share in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and Switzerland, SEMA maintains a remarkable customer base of more than 10,500 carpentries and prefab house manufacturers.

VIA equity and LEA Partners, as co-investor, acquired a controlling stake in SEMA in 2019. SEMA has since experienced tremendous top and bottom-line growth, building upon its best-in-class products and great customer relationships.

“We are excited also to be part of the next phase and are confident that SEMA will maintain its market-leading position and further be able to lead change and innovation in its industry. We are looking forward to a very successful partnership with the competent team of Bregal”, says Sebastian Maciejewski, Principal at VIA equity.

Selling its shareholding in SEMA after only a few years, VIA equity decided to invest again, now with its recent fund, VIA equity Fund IV.

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VIA equity invests in Etiscan Identifikationssysteme

VIA equity invests in Etiscan Identifikationssysteme GmbH, a renowned full-service provider of automatic identification and data capture (“AIDC”) software solutions using barcodes and RFID to link intra-logistics processes to ERP systems.

Hubertus Hofmann and Kerstin Münster, founders and managing directors of Etiscan commented: “Together with VIA equity, we are accelerating our growth path. We have agreed on a joint strategy over the last months and are looking forward to the next phase for our company.”

Sebastian Maciejewski, Principal at VIA equity added: “Kerstin and Hubertus are handing over an organically grown company with excellent software solutions and hundreds of enterprise customers. All previous shareholders are reinvesting significantly as part of the transaction – together we will further develop Etiscan professionally and strategically.”

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VIA equity invests in Struct

VIA equity invests in Struct A/S, a leading PIM (“Product Information Management”) solution provider together with the current management. 

Struct was founded in 2015, by the current management team with a clear vision on creating the perfect PIM solution.

 “We were very confident that our vision of a PIM solution with a ‘no code’ data modeling engine combined with an extremely user-friendly interface would be a game changer for businesses in our target markets”, says Jacob Kruse, CEO of Struct A/S.

“Struct has, in a few years, become the preferred PIM solution in Denmark and is currently experiencing high growth internationally. VIA equity looks forward to executing on the potential of Struct together with the management and the competent employees in Struct”, says Peter Thorlund Haahr, partner at VIA equity.

VIA equity has acquired a majority stake in Struct A/S. The management team remains shareholders and will continue in the positions they hold today.

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IT Forum Gruppen and CompliT join forces

IT Forum Gruppen has completed the acquisition of CompliT in order to strengthen the local presence of both companies for the benefit of their employees, customers and partners.

“Both IT Forum Gruppen and CompliT have a strong presence on Funen and we have always regarded CompliT as a strong and very competent player in the market. The IT industry is undergoing rapid development and access to qualified colleagues and specialist competencies are crucial in order to offer customers the best service. Ever since the first meeting with Lars Christoffersen and Morten Dichmann-Damgaard, we have had a common understanding that a joint constellation will ensure that the organization can offer our customers the best service while maintaining the local touch and proximity to the customers” Says Jesper Skov Jørgensen, CEO in IT Forum Gruppen. 

Both Lars Christoffersen and Morten Dichmann-Damgaard, will continue as Managers in the new setup and both companies will continue to operate as usual, without any material changes for the employees or customers.

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John Helmsøe-Zinck becomes Chairman of the Board – Benjamin Kramarz new Managing Partner

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 acquires the Finnish full-service IT-provider Valtti

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 the German provider of add-on solutions for business central – GBEDV

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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Advania acquires the Norwegian based security specialist Painkiller

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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The Financial Times places Adform in an exclusive club of jobs with diversity

Adform manages to be ranked in the top 100 in a large, annual Financial Times survey on diversity in European companies. “It is the result of strategic work with values ​​and purpose in the organization”, says Adform CEO.

Link to the survey : Employees score Europe’s companies on diversity | Financial Times (ft.com)

Link to the press release: Adform Hits Top 100 in Financial Times’ Diversity List | Adform (adform.com)

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Advania acquires the UK based cloud specialist Content+Cloud

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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VIA EQUITY WINS “THE PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM OF THE YEAR” AWARD

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 15th 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

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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Adform receives the Red Dot Award

VIA equity’s portfolio company Adform has recently received a Red Dot Award in the Interface and User Experience category for their reimagined product platform —Adform FLOW. This award is a huge honor, and anyone familiar with design will attest that the Red Dot Awards are one of the most widely recognized professional design competitions in the world. Previous recipients include BMW, IKEA, and Sony among many other leading brands.

For more information click here.  

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Advania acquires Visolit

Advania announces the acquisition of Visolit to create one of the strongest and fastest growing IT service providers in the Nordics.

Visolit is a technology group with a strong geographic presence in the Nordic region, and an established partner for cloud services and digital transformation in the Nordic market. Visolit has a comprehensive portfolio of cloud-based end-to-end services, as well as consulting, security, and integration services.

The combined group will have turnover in excess of 9 billion, approximately 2,400 employees and will leverage the expertise of both Advania and Visolit to offer a broad and deep range of compelling IT services tailored to each customer.

VIA equity (VIA equity fund IV & co-investment from a VIA equity fund IV limited partner), Goldman Sachs Asset Management and other existing Advania shareholders will increase their investment in the Company, whilst IK Investment Partners will join as a new minority shareholder in the combined group post-closing, forming a new strong partnership with in depth Nordic IT-service expertise.

To see full press release in English click here.

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VIA SELLS ALL NRG TO SWIRE ENERGY SERVICES

VIA equity leads the sale of ALL NRG to Swire Energy Services.

ALL NRG is a leading provider of manpower services and project solutions to the energy industry providing installation, commissioning & decommissioning support, blade inspection & repairs, and HV services, operating across wind markets in Europe and Asia.

During VIA’s ownership ALL NRG has established itself as one of the leading service companies to leading OEM- and utility companies in the offshore wind industry. With a pool of more than 600 highly qualified technicians, the Company is well positioned to carry on its strong track record benefiting from the highly growing offshore wind industry.   

“VIA equity is happy to see the All NRG activities continuing under a new ownership and we are certain this new constellation with SES will have potential to excel in the very promising market for wind and solar” says Peter Thorlund Haahr, partner at VIA equity.

As part of the transaction, ALL NRG’s Oil & Gas division was sold to management.

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VIA invests in IT Forum Gruppen

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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VIA equity successfully exits Triarca to Accent Equity

With a history dating back to 1959 and over 1.5 million enclosures sold, Triarca is today one of the leading Scandinavian suppliers of enclosures for infrastructure solutions. The company has unique experience and a solid track-record of producing and distributing high-quality enclosures, used in power distribution, communication technology and e-commerce parcel lockers. Triarca’s strong market position is a result of its ability to develop and offer a variety of enclosures in aluminium, galvanized and stainless steel with colour and finish flexibility combined with user-friendly features for installation and maintenance. The customer base primarily consists of blue-chip utility companies and technology companies, and almost all Triarca’s enclosures are developed in close co-operation with the customers.

“We have been very pleased with our investment in Triarca. It is a very well-run company with a vision and mission to contribute to the global electrification agenda. This has been a central part of the success that Triarca has experienced, along with its capable management and very competent employees. We are pleased that Triarca is now continuing its impressive journey with Accent Equity”, says Peter Thorlund Haahr, partner at VIA equity.

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Advania acquires Beveric

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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ADVANIA ACQUIRES GENIA

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 SELLS ELOGIC

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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Advania acquires Hi5 in Sweden

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 reinvests in Advania with new investor Goldman Sachs

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 Advanias 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 ANNOUNCES SECOND CLOSING OF VIA EQUITY FUND IV

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 sells Profit Software to Volpi

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 SELLS ENVIDAN TO WATERLAND

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’S OWNERSHIP OF ADFORM TRANSFERRED TO VIA EQUITY FUND A

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 assets from Core9 Hosting

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

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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GleSYS bolts on assets from Cloudonline

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 announces first closing of VIA Fund IV

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 establishes local subsidiary in Germany

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 acquires WGsystem

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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GleSYS acquires Oulun DataCenter Oy

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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GleSYS acquires Stockholm Internet eXchange (STHIX)

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 expands its international presence with two new regional offices

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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VIA equity kicks off the fundraising of VIA fund IV with an extraordinary head start

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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ATP and PFA sell stakes in VIA equity fund II & III

The internationally well-recognized and acknowledged investors Five Arrows, LGT and Cubera have agreed with ATP and PFA to buy their shares in VIA equity Fond II and VIA equity Fond III.

The General Partner, i.e. the VIA team, continues unchanged as investor in the funds.

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Advania acquires Kompetera in Denmark

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 is growing in Finland – acquires Accountor ICT

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 sells ERP-business to Columbus

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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Linka Energy acquires Weiss

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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GleSYS expands with a cutting edge energy efficient datacenter

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 invests in SEMA

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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Advania acquires Itello

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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VIA invests in CEGO

VIA has signed an agreement to acquire a minority stake in CEGO in a buy-out of Danske Spil together with the founders.

To see full press release in Danish click here.

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Adform receives strategic investment

Adform has received a strategic investment from GRO Capital. The investment will contribute with a solid basis for the future and continued focus on establishing a global independent industry leading company.

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GleSYS bolts on a network customer stock from BogalNet

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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Hostnordic sold to IT Relation

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 acquires Vintor

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

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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GleSYS bolts on server hosting from SBBS Solutions

GleSYS has acquired the server hosting business from SBBS Solutions based in Malmö as part of the expansion strategy in the Nordics.

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Advania acquires Stepper

Advania Norge is now entering the market with a broader range of services, software and hardware. The initiative is kicking off with the acquisition of the online store Stepper.

Further growth will take place organically and through other acquisitions.

We have Advania group behind us that is willing to invest, plus successful experience from our sister companies in Sweden and Iceland to draw on. With VIA equity and PFA entering on the ownership side, the future looks bright,” says CEO Espen Hartz, who is excited about expanding the business in Norway.

To see full press release in English click here.

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VIA invests in Advania

VIA and PFA (PFA is a limited partner in VIA equity Fond III) invest in Advania, the Nordic based IT-provider serving thousands of corporate clients in the public and private sector. Advania was formed in 2012 when several branches of IT companies merged and today Advania has more than 1,100 employees in 22 offices located primarily in Iceland and Sweden with a wide range of product and service offerings including managed services, IT infrastructure & integration, business solutions and professional services.

VIA and PFA have acquired a minority stake in Advania, and will in cooperation with the present investors and the management further develop a solid basis for Advania to continue the organic growth and execute on strategic mergers and acquisitions.

”Advania has a different approach to the IT market, looking above and beyond specific vendors and platforms to meet the customer’s needs. That approach has proven successful, and that’s what caught our attention. Advania has unique M&A capabilities, and the company culture fosters growth. Therefore, investing in Advania is in line with our investment strategy and Advania fits perfectly into our portfolio of assets. That’s why we approached the shareholders to join forces with them, and we’re happy that we succeeded”, says Benjamin Kramarz, investment responsible in VIA equity.

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VIA invests in C&B Systemer

VIA invests in C&B Systemer, the Danish supplier of enterprise software to the real estate agency industry. C&B’s software suite enables a one-point entry for real estate agents on every individual estate project. The solution includes CRM, process management, digital documentation, standardized website setup among others.

The present management team and VIA are the new owners of C&B Systemer. Software expert Jan Gaardboe Jensen is also a new smaller shareholder.  The management and the new owners will accelerate the digital development and further strengthen the company’s market position based on a solid combination of knowhow and financial strength.

”We are impressed with the management and employees of C&B Systemer 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 C&B in the future together with the management and the competent employees”, says Benjamin Kramarz, investment responsible in VIA equity.

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Linka Energy and Jernforsen join forces

Linka Energy has acquired Swedish Jernforsen and the combined Group will become the world leader in biomass boiler systems for all professional purposes. Linka Energy Group will expand the current assortment with plants up to 35 MW and broaden the current biomass expertise in straw and wood chips with waste wood and very wet biomasses.

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VIA invests in GleSYS

VIA invests in GleSYS and Portlane together with the current owner, founder and CEO Glenn Johansson.

GleSYS and Portlane provides Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”) including offerings such as colocation, dedicated servers, network & connection, system management and virtual private servers.

GleSYS has grown organically the last ten years and acquired Portlane some years back. Together with VIA it is now possible to further accelerate the very successful business model and growth. ”We have a very strong platform and experience a customer demand both domestically as well as internationally and the investment by VIA will enable continued expansion to cater for this demand” says Glenn Johansson, who will continue developing the company as CEO and major shareholder.

”We are profoundly impressed with the platform created by Glenn Johansson and his team of highly competent employees and believe that the financial strength and experience from VIA will contribute to the development of the company as we build the IT infrastructure player of the future”, says Daniel Hallberg, investment responsible in VIA equity.

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VIA invests in Elogic Systems

VIA invests in Elogic Systems, the Danish production company of electrical panels and one of the leading Scandinavian manufacturers of high-quality enclosures for power, communication and fibre.

Elogic Systems has more than 40 years of experience in developing, producing and selling electrical panels and enclosures. The company was formed as a merger between the two companies Elogic (formerly owned by KK Wind) and Triax Systems (formerly owned by Micro Matic) in 2016.

Elogic Systems has more than 250 employees and production facilities in Stettin, Poland, and at the company’s headquarter in Hornsyld, Denmark.

VIA has acquired Elogic Systems together with the CEO, Lars Prisak, and the CFO, Michael Reeslev.
“Together with the former owner, Micro Matic, we have worked intensively on securing a successful merger of Elogic and Triax in order to create the right foundation for growth and we are looking forward to materialize this together with VIA on the journey ahead ”, says Lars Prisak.

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VIA invests in Continia Software

VIA invests in Continia Software, the Danish software application provider for users of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Continia’s software solutions helps to effectively automate more than 4,000 international customers’ administrative processes around e.g. expense, payment and document/invoice handling within their ERP system.

VIA has acquired the company together with Jan Gaardboe Jensen, the management and key employees of Continia Software.

“Continia Software is a great company and we are very excited to be a part of the next phase of the Continias’s growth together with a large part of the company’s skilled and experienced employees”, says Benjamin Kramarz, investment responsible and partner in VIA equity.

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Adform unmasks one of the largest botnets in history

The fraud prevention team of Adform has unmasked one of the largest fraud schemes to ever hit digital advertising.

The story is featured in the Wall Street Journal.

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Adra Software sold to Trintech

On Wednesday 1 November, VIA’s portfolio company Adra Software AS was sold to Trintech, headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

VIA invested in Adra Software in 2006, when VIA together with Pod Investment and founder Sverre Stockinger delisted the company from the Oslo OTC stock exchange. During the ownership period, Adra Software has gained the position as the leading European company in its market delivering cloud-based, financial close and reconciliation solutions including: ACCOUNTS, a transaction-matching software, BALANCER, a balance sheet reconciliations software, TASK MANAGER, a software for streamlining the financial close process, and RECEIVABLES, a payment matching software.

Founder Sverre Stockinger who has been a board member in Adra Software during the ownership period says: “VIA equity has been instrumental in the success of the development of Adra Software including the very satisfying investment result and exit for the owners. The energy, knowhow and experience of VIA equity have been key complementary value-adds to the board work and the management teams over time. As the founder I am very happy and proud to see the company continue as a very successful organization for many years to come.”

VIA’s John Helmsøe-Zinck was an active board member of Adra Software during the investment period.

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VIA invests in Linka Energy

VIA invests in Linka Energy, the leading provider of smaller biomass solutions in Scandinavia and the UK and also to other parts of the world. The solutions are mainly used for making energy such as hot water, high pressure hot water or steam.

Energy based on biomass sourced from local environment is 100% renewable and will be an essential element in the significant transition in Northern Europe from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. VIA will be majority owner but the CEO Brian Pedersen and other key employees will continue to be significant shareholders in Linka. New chairman and also shareholder will be John Veje Olesen, former CEO for Babcock & Wilcox Vølund.

Linka provides high quality biomass solutions mainly based on straw, wood chip and wood pellets. The biomass is typically sourced in the local environment. The solutions are used in the agricultural, industrial and district heating industries and the company has installed more than 3,500 biomass plants on a global level primarily within the 1 – 5 MW segments but also bigger plants.

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EnviDan acquires Swedish AquaP

AquaP are expert engineers in sewer systems and is a perfect match to EnviDan Sweden who historically have been focusing on wastewater solutions. EnviDan will hereafter have offices in Helsingborg, Malmö, Lund and Gothenburg and cover the southern region of Sweden very well. The new Envidan Sweden team (incl. AquaP) will be more than 20 expert engineers and represents a solid base to continue the organic growth in Sweden.

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VIA equity opens a new office in Germany

VIA equity has opened a new office in Munich and has hired Sebastian Maciejewski as Investment Director Germany. Sebastian has been in operation from the new office since the beginning of June.

Based on VIA’s highly successful Nordic investments, the plan with the new office is to strengthen VIA’s footprint in the German market.

Sebastian joins VIA equity with experience from positions in the well-known German private equity firms Paragon Partners and PINOVA Capital, both located in Munich.

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Profit Software acquires Evolvit

Profit Software has acquired Evolvit, a Finland-based company that offers IT and Business Intelligence solutions for the financial sector. With more than 230 employees combined, the acquisition will broaden Profit Software’s expertise and offerings to the FinTech sector.

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