- Purchase price for this acquisition of €24.5m, with €19m
payable on the signature and the balance due one year after the
closing date
- Closing date anticipated no later than June 15,
2022
- Acquisition to be fully paid in cash
Regulatory News:
This replaces the announcement made at 8:31 PM on April 4, 2022
due to the following corrections:
- Purchase price for this acquisition of €24.5m, with €19m
payable on the signature and the balance due one year after the
closing date
And not:
- Purchase price for this acquisition of €24.5m, with €19m
payable one year after the closing date
Avanquest Enters Into a Binding Agreement to
Acquire the German Software Publisher, PDF forge
- Purchase price for this acquisition of €24.5m, with €19m
payable on the signature and the balance due one year after the
closing date
- Closing date anticipated no later than June 15,
2022
- Acquisition to be fully paid in cash
Claranova (Paris:CLA) today announced that its Avanquest
division entered into a binding agreement with the German company,
pdfforge GmbH ("PDF forge") to acquire all of its share capital
(the "Acquisition") for a purchase price of €24.5m. Fully financed
in cash, the Acquisition provides for an initial payment of €19m on
the closing date and €5.5m at the end of the one-year anniversary
date.
With this latest acquisition, Avanquest reaffirms its ambition
to establish itself as the key competitor of Adobe Acrobat in the
PDF document management software segment.
Soda PDF, Avanquest's flagship PDF software solution, continues
to demonstrate its potential for future growth, as reflected by its
increase in revenue of 33% in H1 2021-20221. This performance has
been driven by its successful customer acquisition campaigns as
well as the strength of its recurring revenue model, which
represented 83% of the total sales of Avanquest's PDF segment in H1
2021-20221.
Downloaded more than 50 million times over the past three years
and sold in more than 180 countries, PDFCreator, marketed by PDF
forge, offers advanced features and options for creating PDF
documents for the B2B segment2.
PDF forge’s integration into Avanquest's PDF solutions portfolio
will further expand the division’s business solutions offering
while accelerating growth in recurring revenue. With 85% of sales
in the form of subscriptions, PDF forge products’ also enjoy
considerable popularity among their users, highlighted by a renewal
rate of over 80%.
PDF forge is also a historical partner of Avanquest, who have
been doing business together for the past ten years. The PDF
Architect software, the second PDF application sold by the company,
is indeed a white label version of the Avanquest’s Soda PDF
solution.
The company’s two co-founders and sole shareholders, Mr. Philip
Chinery and Mr. Frank Heind�rfer, will continue to manage the PDF
forge business as part of the Avanquest division to ensure its
successful integration and continuing development.
The closing date for this acquisition is expected to be no later
than June 15, 2022, subject to the fulfillment of the usual
conditions precedent.
Philip Chinery and Frank Heind�rfer, PDF forge’s co-founders and
executive directors commented: “This acquisition represents a
natural outcome of our close collaboration with Avanquest. Our
complementary strengths and customer bases, as well as the common
values we share, were at the heart of our decision to join the
division. We are very pleased to be able to count on the support
and expertise of Avanquest's teams to accelerate our growth."
Eric Gareau, Avanquest CEO commented: "After working alongside
Philip and Frank for many years, the business combination between
PDF Forge and Avanquest seemed like an ideal fit. In addition to
strengthening our enterprise offerings, this acquisition fits
perfectly with our strategy of increasing the contribution of
recurring revenue from our software businesses. We are convinced
that the quality of PDF forge products and Avanquest's digital
marketing expertise represents a winning combination for the
continuing growth of our division and achieving our goal of
establishing ourselves as Adobe's key competitor in the PDF
segment.”
Pierre Cesarini, Chairman-CEO of Claranova Group, stated: “After
completing Avanquest's transformation, which now combines strong
revenue growth and profitability, we are continuing our acquisition
strategy to establish Avanquest’s position as leading global SaaS
software company. We are delighted to be able to welcome PDF forge
that will strengthen our presence in the PDF space."
Baker McKenzie, under the direction of Berthold Hummel, partner
of the Munich office, acted as legal advisors for the PDF Forge
Acquisition.
Financial calendar: May 10, 2022: Q3
2021-2022 revenue
Telephone number for individual shareholders
available from Tuesday to Thursday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. for
calls within France: 0805 29 10 00 (local rate).
About Claranova:
As a diversified global technology company, Claranova manages
and coordinates a portfolio of majority interests in digital
companies with strong growth potential. Supported by a team
combining several decades of experience in the world of technology,
Claranova has acquired a unique know-how in successfully turning
around, creating and developing innovative companies.
With average annual growth of more than 40% over the last three
years and revenue of €472m in FY 2020-2021, Claranova has proven
its capacity to turn a simple idea into a worldwide success in just
a few short years. Present in 15 countries and leveraging the
technology expertise of nearly 800 employees across North America
and Europe, Claranova is a truly international company, with 95% of
its revenue derived from international markets.
Claranova’s portfolio of companies is organized into three
unique technology platforms operating in all major digital sectors.
Claranova also stands out for its technological expertise in
personalized e-commerce, software publishing and the Internet of
Things, through its three business divisions, PlanetArt, Avanquest
and myDevices. These three technology platforms share a common
vision: empowering people through innovation by providing simple
and intuitive digital solutions that facilitate everyday access to
the very best of technology.
For more information on Claranova Group:
https://www.claranova.com or
https://twitter.com/claranova_group
CODES Ticker : CLA ISIN : FR0013426004
www.claranova.com
Disclaimer:
All statements other than statements of historical fact included
in this press release about future events are subject to (i) change
without notice and (ii) factors beyond the Company’s control.
Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties beyond the Company’s control that could cause the
Company’s actual results or performance to be materially different
from the expected results or performance expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements.
1 Data from management reporting. 2 Business-to-Business.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220404005969/en/
ANALYSTS - INVESTORS +33 1 41 27 19 74
ir@claranova.com
FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION +33 1 75 77 54 65
ir@claranova.com
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