GOFORE PLC COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT 29 AUGUST 2018 AT 14:55 EET
Helsinki-based digital consulting company Solinor joins forces with Gofore
Gofore is expanding in Helsinki. Gofore has agreed to purchase the entire share capital of Solinor Oy, a specialist in digital solutions. Through the acquisition, Gofore will strengthen its position as one of the leading providers of digital change services and software development in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The purchase will also open up new interesting opportunities for the professionals at both companies.
“The corporate acquisition is in line with Gofore’s growth strategy. We have sought to develop our ability to serve our large customers in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area locally by means of a line-up of top experts in the field. Solinor will help us strengthen our capabilities in this regard. The acquisition will make us a notable operator in the region,” says Gofore CEO Timur Kärki.
In total, Solinor’s Helsinki office employs some 50 experts.
Genuinely customer-oriented
Gofore is known as a prominent and capable supplier for the Finnish public and private sector, and increasingly on an international scale. Its services span the entire value chain from management consultation to service design and implementation as well as cloud services. Solinor’s expertise in modern software development particularly strengthens its competence in constructing digital services. The companies share the goal of creating added value for customers in the current digital age.
“Gofore shares our vision of the future. We believe that the best way to realise that vision is to work together with Gofore as a larger company. In the new arrangement, we can better meet our customers’ demand thanks to a wider service offering and enhanced expertise,” says Aki Koikkalainen, the CEO of Solinor.
The acquisition will improve Gofore’s supply capacity. Due to the high demand for competent software developers, the company’s customers, particularly in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, have found themselves having to compete for expertise. By joining forces with Solinor, Gofore is taking an important step towards securing its ability to continue to serve customer interests.
In 2017, the adjusted operating net sales of the business operations being acquired stood at EUR 4.0 million and the EBITDA was EUR 518,000. Solinor’s reported net sales was EUR 4.4 million while the EBITDA stood at EUR 116,000.
The trade involves Gofore purchasing the entire share capital of Solinor and making former Solinor shareholders owners in Gofore through a directed issue of shares. The purchase price consists of the debt-free price of the business operations at EUR 4.0 million and the compensation of approximately EUR 716,000 to be paid from the net cash. EUR 1.4 million of the purchase price will be paid by means of a directed share issue of 159,830 Gofore shares to the sellers. The subscription price has been determined according to the average price weighted based on the trade volume between 30 July and 28 August, 2018. Remaining trade price will be paid cash.
The intention is for the to be completed on 31 August, 2018. Gofore estimates that the trade’s effect on the company will be about EUR 1.0 million in 2018. The company’s Board of Directors will not be amending the guidelines issued in the half-year report published on 15 August, 2018.
“We are setting out to write a shared story in Helsinki.”
Digitalisation requires new operating methods and the ability to adapt to constant change. Increasing the agility of a company stems from the corporate culture, which is defined by the entire staff. People are at the centre of everything at both Gofore – the winner of the Great Place to Work® 2017 study – and Solinor in all operational areas, from the development of customers’ working culture to the companies’ own daily activities.
“At our company, employee satisfaction is the basis for everything. We want to provide the best possible workplace for all of our employees. The acquisition at hand will provide our staff with the opportunity to expand their competence with regard to technologies and segments, for example. Solinor’s employees will become part of our wonderful and open work community, and we will set out to write a shared story for ourselves in Helsinki. I am looking forward to seeing people and competences come together and experiencing the joy of shaping a new community,” Kärki says in summary.
For further information:
Timur Kärki, CEO, Gofore Plc
tel. +358(0)40 828 5886
timur.karki@gofore.com
Aki Koikkalainen, CEO, Solinor Oy
tel. +358 (0)50 321 4756
aki.koikkalainen@solinor.com
Gofore Plc is a company specialising in digitalisation established in 2002. We offer modern services that help operators in the private and public sectors to move with the times. Our mission is to change the world for the better through digitalisation and by renewing the ways of working. Our services cover the entire value chain – from management consultation to service design and implementation as well as cloud services. Gofore currently employs over 410 people in Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Tampere, Turku, Swansea, Munich and Madrid. Gofore was chosen as the best workplace in Finland and the second–best workplace in Europe in the Great Place to Work® 2017 survey. In 2017, our net sales were EUR 34 million. Gofore Plc’s shares are quoted in the First North Finland market administered by Nasdaq Helsinki. More information is available at www.gofore.com.