Keylogic GmbH↓Ookam Software
Situation
KeyLogic is a CAFM software that property and facility managers use to run buildings, space, contracts and maintenance workflows in a single system. Rudolf Brendel and his team have been developing it since 2000; KeyLogic GmbH is based in Eschborn near Frankfurt and has had an Austrian branch since 2004. According to the company, the solution is certified by GEFMA across all its criteria catalogues. The founder faced the question every owner of specialised vertical software has to answer sooner or later: who will carry forward a product that customers rely on for maintenance and development over many years? At the same time, IGCP was aware that software-focused, well-capitalised investor groups were under considerable pressure to deploy capital and were actively looking for business software investments. Brendel decided to resolve his succession in this environment.
Process
Brendel gave IGCP an exclusive mandate to structure and execute his succession. The focus was therefore not simply on a sale, but on who could take long-term responsibility for the product. The profile of the eventual shareholder shows what mattered. By its own account, Ookam Software invests in software companies whose solutions deliver lasting value to their customers and positions itself as a specialist in succession for vertical software. Its group already included several companies in planning, building and operating real estate – a setting in which a CAFM solution fits naturally.
Outcome
Ookam Software joined KeyLogic GmbH as a new shareholder. The handover was designed in stages: Walter Liesinger, who has headed the Austrian branch since 2004 and was responsible for sales, implementation and support in Austria and Switzerland, moved up into operational management. Georg Wachter, who oversees construction and real estate holdings at Ookam, joined the management board. Brendel initially stayed on to secure the transition to the next generation, describing Ookam as a partner that "stands firmly behind our solutions". Ookam is now wholly owned by the listed CHAPTERS Group AG in Hamburg. According to its imprint, KeyLogic GmbH is now represented by Walter Liesinger.
What the case shows
Succession in vertical software rarely ends on a single closing date. CAFM customers have mapped building data and processes in one system over many years; what matters to them is who will be responsible for maintenance and development going forward. At KeyLogic, the answer had three parts: an internal successor with some twenty years of product experience, a shareholder focused on the real estate sector, and a founder who stayed on for a period to support the handover. Owners of comparable software firms should therefore settle the question of future leadership before talking to buyers. An acquirer specialised in succession relies, as here, on a capable second tier of management.