Date
10.09.24
One Equity Completes Investment in Sopra GMT Enabling Transformational Combination of Axway and Sopra Banking Software
One Equity Partners (“OEP”), a middle market private equity firm, has made an investment to enable the transformational combination of software companies Axway Software (ENXTPA: AXW, “Axway”) and Sopra Banking Software (“SBS”), a carve-out of Sopra Steria Group (ENXTPA: SOP, “Sopra Steria”). The combined entity creates a banking and infrastructure software business with management targeting around €700 million of revenue in 2025, a highly recurring revenue mix and meaningful potential synergies. OEP believes this transaction repositions Axway as an attractive enterprise software company of scale and also repositions Sopra Steria as a pure-play IT services company. OEP invested in Sopra GMT, which is the largest shareholder in both Axway and Sopra Steria, alongside Pierre Pasquier, the founder of Sopra Steria.
“Our investment has facilitated a carve-out and transformational merger of two leaders in the banking and infrastructure software space, and also enabled Sopra Steria to simplify its strategic focus on IT services,” said Andrew Dunn, Partner at One Equity Partners. “It also underscores OEP’s ability to identify value opportunities by forming trusted business partnerships, enabling strategic combinations of high-performing assets in the technology space.”
With dual headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona and Paris, France, Axway provides software enabling the secure management, integration and movement of enterprise data, with over 11,000 clients and approximately 1,800 employees across 18 countries. Formerly a division within Sopra Steria prior to the carve-out, SBS is a global financial technology company that helps banks and the financial services industry digitize operations in banking, lending, compliance, payments, and consumer and asset finance. It serves as a trusted partner to more than 1,500 financial institutions and large-scale lenders in 80 countries globally. Together, the combination of SBS with Axway creates an enterprise software company of substantial scale, with almost 70% of revenue from customers in the financial services industry.
Headquartered in Paris, France, Sopra Steria specializes in driving digital transformation for its clients through consulting, digital services and solutions in the European tech sector and has 56,000 employees across nearly 30 countries.
About One Equity Partners
One Equity Partners (“OEP”) is a middle market private equity firm focused on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in North America and Europe. The firm seeks to build market-leading companies by identifying and executing transformative business combinations. OEP is a trusted partner with a differentiated investment process, a broad and senior team, and an established track record generating long-term value for its partners. Since 2001, the firm has completed more than 400 transactions worldwide. OEP, founded in 2001, spun out of JP Morgan in 2015. The firm has offices in New York, Chicago, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. For more information, please visit www.oneequity.com
About Axway Software
Axway (ENXTPA: AXW) enables enterprises to securely open everything by integrating and moving data across a complex world of new and old technologies. Axway’s API-driven B2B integration and MFT software, refined over 20 years, complements Axway Amplify, an open API management platform that makes APIs easier to discover and reuse across multiple teams, vendors, and cloud environments. Axway has helped over 11,000 businesses unlock the full value of their existing digital ecosystems to create brilliant experiences, innovate new services, and reach new markets. Learn more at www.axway.com/en.
About Sopra Banking Software
Sopra Banking Software (SBS) is a global financial technology company that is helping banks and the financial services industry to reimagine how to operate in an increasingly digital world. SBS is a trusted partner of more than 1,500 financial institutions and large-scale lenders in 80 countries worldwide. Its cloud platform offers clients a composable architecture to digitize operations, ranging from banking, lending, compliance, to payments, and consumer and asset finance. SBS is recognized as a Top 10 European Fintech company by IDC and as a leader in Omdia’s Universe: Digital Banking Platforms. Learn more at www.soprabanking.com.
About Sopra Steria Group
Sopra Steria (ENXTPA: SOP), a leading tech player in Europe, recognized for its consulting, digital services and solutions, helps its clients to drive their digital transformation and obtain tangible and sustainable benefits. It provides end-to-end solutions to make large companies and organizations more competitive by combining in-depth knowledge of a wide range of business sectors and innovative technologies with a fully collaborative approach. Sopra Steria places people at the heart of everything and is committed to putting digital to work with its clients in order to build a positive future for all. With 56,000 employees in nearly 30 countries, the Group generated revenues of €5.8 billion in 2023. Learn more at www.soprasteria.com.
