Netherlands-based Main Capital Partners, a private equity firm that backs growth-stage companies through buyouts, announced on Thursday that it has acquired majority shares in logistics software companies Wanko and FleetGO.
The two companies will merge into a comprehensive logistics software group called FleetGO Group, says Main Capital Partners.
The announcement comes around one month after Main Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Dutch-based Avinty, a software solutions provider for the healthcare industry.
Why acquisition?
With this acquisition, Main Capital Partners aims to create smarter fleets with actionable data and insights on driver and fleet performance, vehicle usage, and diagnostics information.
FleetGO Group will also offer a comprehensive software solution for Warehouse Management, Transport Management, and Fleet Management in the DACH and Benelux region for the SME and corporate markets.
Main Capital Partners estimates combined 2022 revenues for FleetGO to be around €20M and are expected to continue at a double-digit growth rate.
Led by Ronald van Tiel, CEO of FleetGo, the Group will now employ approximately 150 people to drive and support this growth trajectory deploying a cross and upsell strategy.
Wanko: What you need to know
Based out of Ainring, Germany, Wanko is a software provider for transport solutions used primarily in warehousing and route optimisation.
The family firm is managed by Alexander Wanko and has a customer base of more than 130 companies across industries like chemicals, transportation, and industrial verticals.
Alexander Wanko says, “We are very excited to write the next growth chapter of Wanko with Main Capital Partners and as a part of FleetGO Group. We see multiple growth opportunities for the combined group. We strongly believe that Main Capital, with its software expertise, is the right strategic partner to help us take the company to the next level”.
FleetGo: What you need to know
Based out of Hattem, Netherlands, FleetGO offers telematics software and hardware that allows companies to gather information such as speed, inventory, temperature, resting periods, equipment, fuel usage, etc, and manage their trucks.
The company’s primary customer base covers heavy-duty trucking in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation.
The company has over 5,000 customers, including DHL and Reym, and has offices in the Netherlands (Hattem), Germany (Dusseldorf), and Turkey (Istanbul).
Ronald van Tiel, former CEO at FleetGO and newly appointed CEO of FleetGO Group, says, “We look forward to this partnership with Main Capital Partners as we plan further to strengthen the market-leading positions of both FleetGO and Wanko and build a leading European logistics software group. With the help and support of Main, we fully expect to grow further and improve our service offering to deliver even more added value to our customer base”.
Main Capital Partners: What you need to know
Main Capital Partners is a software investor in the Benelux, DACH, and the Nordics. The firm has nearly 20 years of experience in strengthening software companies and works closely with the management teams of its portfolio companies as a strategic partner to realise sustainable growth and build ‘excellent’ software groups.
The company has over 60 employees who work from offices in The Hague, Stockholm, and Düsseldorf. The firm has over €2.2B in assets under management and claims to have invested in more than 130 software companies. In turn, these companies have created approximately 7,500 jobs.
Sven van Berge, Head of DACH activities at Main Capital Partners, says, “The market for supply chain software offers significant growth opportunities for the DACH and Benelux regions and is also becoming increasingly important for companies from an ESG standpoint. Both are important investment criteria to Main. By merging two established companies into one group, Main has a strong base to better serve the respective market with a more comprehensive solution. We will capitalise on our extensive experience within the supply chain software sector and implement it to grow further and develop these exciting business synergies to drive FleetGO Group forward.”