Sogelink and Geodesial Group, two leading providers of software solutions for infrastructure, construction and property management professionals, announce their merger to establish a new European Construction Tech leader, supported by their common shareholder Keensight Capital, one of the leading private equity managers dedicated to pan-European Growth Buyout1 investments.
With around 300 employees across nine offices (in France, Hungary, and Canada), 34,000 clients and 130,000 users, the resulting Group will become a leading company for Construction Tech in Europe and is well positioned to join the top 10 French software companies.
The new Group will offer a unique combination of best-of-breed and mission-critical software solutions used to simplify and optimize complex business processes in the building, infrastructure and property management industry. It will become an undisputed leader in this market and will be uniquely positioned to leverage on long-term growth drivers such as the digitalization of construction, the BIM (Building Information Modeling) adoption, and increased regulations.
The new Group plans to accelerate its growth, with the ambition of becoming the Construction Tech leader in the European markets by:
– Developing R&D, innovation and commercial synergies to enrich offering for clients from all infrastructure, construction and property management ecosystems, including public agencies and local authorities;
– Boosting its international development, though organic expansion and build-up opportunities.
After having worked with the two management teams to make this merger possible, Keensight Capital will be putting its 20 years of cutting-edge expertise in Technology and its international network to help the Group strengthen its leadership position at a European level.
The new Group will be led by Fatima Berral as President of the new Group, CEO of Sogelink, and David Le Roux as Director General of the new Group, CEO of Geodesial Group.
Fatima Berral, President of the new Group and CEO of Sogelink, says: “For several years now, Sogelink and Geodesial had identified their complementarities. Today, thanks to the support of our common investor Keensight, we are all convinced that this is the perfect time for our two companies to combine forces to join the top 10 software companies in France and accelerate our international growth. With the merger, the Group enhances its know-how in terms of software and services development for its clients. We are thrilled to begin this new ambitious chapter, together with David and his talented team.” 1 Growth Buyout: investment in profitable, private companies experiencing strong growth, in minority or majority positions, with or without leverage, using a flexible approach tailored to the needs of individual entrepreneurs, in order to finance organic growth projects, acquisition strategies or provide historic shareholders with liquidity.
David Le Roux, Director General of the new Group and CEO of Geodesial Group, adds: “We are very enthusiastic about this merger with Sogelink, which stands as a pioneer and as the undisputed market leader. With this major step, Geodesial will be able to co-develop new solutions, especially in the mobile cloud, a fast-growing market. Our companies both being Construction Tech gems, the combination of our respective expertise and strengths will reinforce our leading position and our ability to seize market opportunities, with an objective of significantly increasing revenues abroad by 2025. I am very happy to gather our teams on the same digital platform as we all share the same vision to offer the best innovative solution and services to our clients.”
Jean-Michel Beghin, Managing Partner of Keensight Capital, concludes: “Over the past year, we have been working hand in hand with Fatima Berral and David Le Roux, two remarkable CEOs, on this combination to create the Construction Tech leader. We invested in Geodesial in September 2019 and in Sogelink in December of the same year. Each company has experienced a steady double-digit annual growth over the past years and has a high growth potential on its own. Today, the combination of these two success stories will accelerate the value creation for all stakeholders and paves the way for its international expansion.”
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About Sogelink
Founded in 2000, Sogelink provides software, cloud and mobile solutions for all players in the infrastructure, construction and property management ecosystem. All solutions are supported by a technological services platform, notably when it comes to exchanging very large flows of data.
With some 30 000 clients and more than 100,000 users, Sogelink aims to become the unrivalled expert in the collaborative, digital and smart management of data in 2D/3D/4D across its ecosystem.
www sogelink fr
About Geodesial
GEODESIAL group, with its subsidiaries Geomedia, Geomensura and Bloc in Bloc, develops and markets software in the trades of geomatics, studies of urban development and transport infrastructure. Thanks to a sustained strategy of R&D investments, GEODESIAL group offers business solutions in the office as well as on site (field software) with an innovative approach for BIM (Building Information Modeling) and CIM (City Information Modeling). Since 1993, the group has also been one of the first distributors of Autodesk’s AEC collection in France.
www geodesial com
About Keensight Capital
Keensight Capital, one of the leading European Growth Buyout firms, is committed to supporting entrepreneurs as they implement their growth strategies. For 20 years, Keensight Capital’s team of seasoned professionals has leveraged their knowledge of investment and growth industries to invest for the long term in profitable companies with high growth potential and revenues in the range of €10 million to €300 million. Drawing on its expertise in the Technology and Healthcare sectors, Keensight identifies the best investment opportunities in Europe and works closely with management teams to develop and achieve their strategic vision.
www keensightcapital com
Media Contacts
Keensight Capital
Anne de Bonnefon – abonnefon@keensightcapital.com- +33 1 83 79 87 37
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Estelle Bleuze – estelle.bleuze@citigatedewerogerson.com – +33 6 82 65 44 36
Sogelink
La Nouvelle Agence
Maurine Cassin – sogelink@lanouvelle-agence.com- +33 (0)1 83 81 71 40
