net-haus GmbH↓SINGU (PL)
Situation
For more than 25 years, Berlin-based net-haus GmbH has developed and sold software for computer-aided facility management (CAFM) and building management. The company was founded in 2000 by Stefan and Dr Andreas Wenzel; Stefan Wenzel served as managing director from the moment the GmbH was entered in the commercial register. Its core product is "hausmanager", software for caretakers and building managers: properties, technical installations, work orders and fault reports are recorded centrally and handled on mobile devices. More than 600 customers use it. After a quarter of a century in the market, the shareholders' question was succession. They were looking for a solution that would hand over the product, the team and the long-standing customer relationships together – and give customers a clear path for further technical development.
Process
As exclusive adviser to net-haus GmbH, IGCP accompanied the shareholders through the entire sale: preparation, international investor search, negotiations, signing and closing. The profile of the eventual buyer shows what matters with a software house of this kind. A vendor just entering the German market needs exactly what net-haus offered: an installed customer base, an experienced local team and knowledge of domestic requirements. In return, such a buyer brings its own continuously developed platform onto which the existing business can be migrated over time.
Outcome
net-haus GmbH was sold to SINGU in a 100% share deal. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Kraków, the PropTech company runs a cloud-based CAFM/CMMS platform which, according to SINGU, more than 500 customers in 35 countries use to manage over 200 million m² of commercial space. It was SINGU's first transaction in Germany, a few weeks after its official market entry and shortly after its combination with the British provider Micad. Peter Vollmer, also Managing Director DACH at SINGU, took over as managing director. The Berlin office was retained and is now the group's German headquarters. The company now operates as SINGU Germany GmbH; hausmanager support and contacts have remained in place.
What the case shows
For an established software product focused on its home market, the right buyer need not come from the same country. SINGU publicly explained the acquisition by saying that net-haus brought "a loyal customer base, an experienced team and deep local know-how" – for a vendor entering a market, that replaces years of building from scratch. Owners of comparable software companies should therefore check early which foreign vendors are currently trying to enter their market; their interest may differ from that of a domestic competitor. The case also shows how much the customer side is part of the deal: continued support and familiar contacts were at the centre of communication after the sale.