Berger-Levrault, publisher of software for public administrations, the local public sector, healthcare, medico-social services, education and businesses, announces the acquisition of Carl Software, expert in technical management of equipment and maintenance (CMMS / EAM / TPM).
This merger will enable the two publishers to pool their expertise, broaden the scope of their offer and extend their international leadership. It comes at a time when Carl Software, which has enjoyed 21 years of consecutive growth, and has established itself as the number 1 in its market in France, has just had the best year in its history.
The same is true for Berger-Levrault, which had a historic year in 2017 and is now in 9th place.e sector ranking according to the 2017 EY and Syntec numérique panorama.
For Éric Bonnet, founder and long-standing director of Carl Software since 1985, this merger is part of an ambitious, stable and sustainable development strategy:"For many years, Carl's shareholder base has remained unchanged. But it became clear to me several months ago: the qualities required to manage a company of around fifty people are not the same as for a group that has become international, and which continues to grow: Carl should soon exceed 200 employees. What's more, the challenges we want to face in the future require us to be able to rely on the structure of a group capable of supporting our ambitions, whether in terms of product innovation or international development. This merger is the result of a genuine meeting of minds, which would not have been possible without a real affinity between the values of Carl Software and those of Berger-Levrault, coupled with a complementarity that convinced us that we would be stronger together than apart: the Berger-Levrault group, which is one of France's leading software publishers, without being a competitor to our solutions, appeared to me to be the ideal candidate for such a merger. I am therefore pleased and proud, not only to have succeeded with Pierre-Marie Lehucher in making this beautiful union possible, but also to have the opportunity, over the coming months, to continue to participate in writing the first words of this new chapter as Vice-President".
For Carl Software, this transaction is a logical extension of the Berger-Levrault Group. While remaining an independent company within the Berger-Levrault Group, Carl Software's new shareholders will give it even greater capacity for development and innovation, enabling it to :
boost the company's growth by giving it the scale needed to conquer new markets;
pursue the development of its industry-specific solutions (Carl Source, Carl Touch, Carl Flash, etc.) with greater resources in all its sectors of activity: industry, services, transport, healthcare, etc. ;
accelerate its international development.
What's more, these new perspectives in no way alter the organization, products or services provided by the publisher. Carl Software remains the same company: its business, identity, teams and existing locations (both in France and abroad) remain totally unchanged.
The Berger-Levrault Group has become an international player, with 1,500 employees in France, Spain, Canada and Morocco, and over 55,000 customers. Its reputation is particularly strong in the public sector, where it has accompanied the evolution of services with a comprehensive range of software and consulting services for public administrations, the local public sector, healthcare, public and private healthcare establishments and education. It also boasts expertise in equipment management, thanks to its Atal platform for the public sector.
For Pierre-Marie Lehucher, CEO of Berger-Levrault and now also CEO of Carl Software: "The merger with Carl Software is fully in line with the Group's strategy of developing its presence in new markets, particularly in the private sector. It will also enable us to realize our ambition of building a high-performance skills cluster in the "Smart Cities" sector, by combining Berger-Levrault's strengths and expertise with Carl Software's particularly advanced technologies. New investment capacities will enable us to reinforce Carl's leadership in all its business sectors: industry, services, transport, healthcare...".
For 2018, the Berger-Levrault Group, strengthened by the acquisition of Carl Software, now has 1,700 employees and is targeting sales of €165 million, including €25 % in international business.
Learn more: www.carl-software.fr