Investment company EMERAM: Portfolio company ]init[ acquires Swiss Ironforge Consulting AG and strengthens international public sector business

• Focus on the growing Swiss market
• Strong know-how of Ironforge in end-to-end digitalisation
• Expansion of ]init[ will be continued

Munich/Berlin, 5 September 2022: ]init[ AG für digitale Kommunikation, a portfolio company of the investment companies EMERAM and Rivean Capital, is expanding its international public sector business with the acquisition of the Swiss company Ironforge Consulting AG. The transaction, effective 1 September 2022, has now been successfully completed. The aim is to expand into the Swiss market as well as to further develop the portfolio for end-to-end digitalisation solutions. ]init[, with more than 800 employees, is considered one of the leading project service providers in the field of digital transformation.

Since 1 September, ]init[ holds 100 per cent of the shares in Swiss IT consulting firm Ironforge. Ironforge Consulting AG is an established player in the Swiss market since 2009 with 35 employees. The company's customers include a large number of Swiss federal ministries. In addition, Ironforge also works for administration-related companies such as the Swiss Post and Swisscom. Among other things, Ironforge has been involved in the development of a Swiss ePortal for the administration.

The partnership will further strengthen Ironforge's position in its core markets in Switzerland and enable Ironforge to accompany the Swiss administration along the entire digitalisation process. The company is preparing itself for growing demand for holistic digitalisation in the public sector and creating offerings for the consistent introduction and optimisation of front-end and back-end solutions.

The current management team of Ironforge led by the two managing directors Roberto Santovito and Gianni Lepore will accompany the further development of the company. Both will remain shareholders in the company in order to drive forward the expansion of Ironforge together with ]init[. Meanwhile, Harald Felling, CEO of ]init[ AG, will join the board of directors of Ironforge AG.

Dr. Christian Näther, Managing Partner at EMERAM Capital Partners, comments: “]init[ is a digital success story par excellence. With the acquisition, the company strengthens its international orientation and gains an important location abroad. As a business development partner, we comprehensively support ]init['s dynamic growth course. Thus, the company has been able to significantly expand its market position in recent years. We continue to see significant opportunities for the future, also through further acquisitions."

Harald Felling, CEO of ]init[ AG, explains: "Ironforge and we are united by a matching culture, a very similar DNA and a strong focus on public administration. We are therefore pleased that we can promote Ironforge with our long-term experience in end-to-end digitalisation in the public sector and support it in its further growth. In this way, we want to help shape the digital transformation of Switzerland's likewise federally organised administration."

Gianni Lepore, founder and CEO of Ironforge AG, adds: "With ]init[ as an experienced partner, Ironforge will continue its success story with even more power. We want to significantly expand our range and scope of services in order to provide our customers with even better support for IT projects and digitalisation projects. In pursuing this goal, we aim to become a central driver of user-centred digitalisation for the Swiss administration."

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. ]init[ was advised by Noerr and Wenger Plattner (legal) and BDO (financial).

 

ABOUT ]init[ – www.init.de

init[ AG für digitale Kommunikation is one of the leading full-service providers for digital projects in Germany. The company employs more than 800 people (FTE) in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Mainz.

With fee revenues of over 138 million euros, ]init[ is one of the ten fastest-growing Internet agencies according to the BVDW 2022 ranking. In the ranking of providers of digital experience services by Lünendonk & Hossenfelder, ]init[ ranked 13th in 2021 as a "rising star" with an improvement.

The more than 500 customers of ]init[ include the Press and Information Office of the German Federal Government as well as numerous federal and state ministries, Continental AG, BSH Hausgeräte and Heidelberg Cement.

 

ABOUT Ironforge Consulting AG – www.ironforge.ch

Ironforge Consulting AG is an independent IT consulting company based in Muri near Bern and a subsidiary of the German ]init[ AG für digitale Kommunikation since September 2022. The Ironforge management team consists of Roberto Santovito (COO) and Gianni Lepore (founder and CEO). They are the first contact persons for all matters.

In the key areas of Project Services and Business Services, Ironforge supports its clients from the planning and conception to the implementation of their ICT projects. The consultants are, among others, experienced IT project managers, business analysts and multi-skilled IT experts.

In addition to numerous Swiss federal offices and various cantons, clients also include administration-related companies. Ironforge currently employs 35 people and was founded in 2009.

 

ABOUT EMERAM CAPITAL PARTNERS – www.emeram.com

EMERAM is one of the leading investment managers for medium-sized companies in German-speaking countries. Funds advised by EMERAM provide more than 500 million euros of capital for the development of growing companies. The portfolio includes companies from the technology/software, value-added services and new consumer staples sectors. EMERAM acts as a long-term business development partner for its companies and promotes the sustainable growth (organic and inorganic) of the portfolio companies. In addition, the company focuses on the implementation of holistic ESG concepts.

Currently, the portfolio contains six platform investments with cumulatively more than 2,500 employees. The companies continuously achieve double-digit organic sales growth. In addition, a total of 30 add-on acquisitions accelerated the growth and enabled international expansion.

 

Media contact EMERAM Capital Partners:

WMP EuroCom AG
Christian Dose: Tel.: +49 (0)69 2475 689 491 | Email: emeram@wmp-ag.de
Susanne Horstmann: Tel.: +49 (0)160 9988 0099 | Email: emeram@wmp-ag.de

Media contact ]init[ AG für digitale Kommunikation:

Sascha Lansmann: Tel.: +49 (0)30 97006 759 | Email: sascha.lansmann@init.de

 

 

EMERAM Capital Partners | Mühlbaurstraße 1 | 81677 München | Germany | www.emeram.com

 

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