Decisive acquisition in Northern Europe

SQLI announces the acquisition of OSUDIO, an international digital agency operating in 6 countries, mainly in Northern Europe. The Group is accelerating the execution of its strategic plan, Move Up 2020.Created in 1996, OSUDIO has developed in the strategic e-commerce segment by combining a solid technological expertise with proven marketing know-how. The company was awarded "# 1 best digital agency in the Netherlands in 2010, 2015 and 2017".

This acquisition makes a major contribution to SQLI’s strategy in terms of both geographic reach in a key region and margin expansion.OSUDIO accompanies large groups or their subsidiaries in the deployment of their digital transformation some of its references are Carlsberg, Hoffmann Group, GrandVision, Hansgrohe, Miele, Philips and Intergamma.

A key positioning in Northern Europe

This acquisition significantly enhances SQLI’s distinctive business in Europe following a first-half in which the Group stepped up its transformation in France.With a network of 9 offices in 6 European countries such as Germany, Benelux, Denmark and Sweden and 175 employees, OSUDIO achieved a turnover of around €18 million in 2016 and an EBITDA margin of more than 15%.

By integrating OSUDIO, SQLI is expanding its European network of branches with 9 countries covered and accelerating its deployment in Northern Europe, the Group's main conquest territory, with a perfect complementarity and no overlap in the territorial network. The new group will also have a strong delivery capacity with "nearshore" production sites in Rabat / Oujda (Morocco), Cape Town (South Africa) and Valencia (Spain).

The alliance of SQLI’s and OSUDIO’s skills makes the new Group the first HYBRIS integrator (SAP) in Europe and in the Top 3 worldwide with more than 100 projects deployed on the leading digital commerce platform.

OSUDIO has also positioned itself as a leading player in the PIM (Product Information Management) market, a strategic technology for centralized management of product catalogues.

3rd strategic acquisition in the last 18 months

The transaction involves the acquisition of 70% of the capital of OSUDIO by SQLI alongside the agency's Directors who remain fully committed to the project. The accounting integration within SQLI Group will take place retroactively as at September 1st, 2017. The acquisition, whose terms and conditions remain confidential, is paid in cash and will be immediately accretive. It will give rise to the payment of an earn-out based on the results for the financial year 2017.

Following the acquisition of INVENT COMMERCE in the United-Kingdom in April 2016 and the more recent acquisition of STAR REPUBLIC in Sweden (May 2017), SQLI confirms its desire to amplify international growth dynamics in addition to the last success of organic growths, particularly in Switzerland and Belgium.

These operations support the robust growth momentum already visible in the first half of 2017 and offer SQLI new growth reservoirs in the higher value-added e-commerce segment and the Northern European markets which are most profitable.

Didier Fauque, CEO of SQLI, said: “With the integration of OSUDIO within the SQLI Group, we have reached a milestone in our Move Up 2020 plan. Following the acquisition of Invent Commerce in the United Kingdom and South Africa, and more recently the acquisition of Star Republic in Sweden, this new operation gives us a tangible European dimension and positions us as one of the three largest integrators of SAP Hybris, the leading e-commerce platform in the world. The exceptional complementarity of our skills enables us to conquer a strong position in the markets of omnichannel and customer experiences. This digital DNA that we share as well as our common values, are strong assets that will further accelerate our development and consolidate our ambition to be a major player in the implementation of the most innovative digital platforms."

Peter van Reijmersdal, CEO of OSUDIO, added: “After 20 years of continuous growth, we are very pleased to join the SQLI group. Our alliance will give birth to a European leader within connected experience with offices in 9 countries and 2 offshore locations in Morocco and South-Africa. Our clients will benefit both from our combined expertise and our ability to deliver on strategic matters related to mobility, omnichannel commerce, big data and Product Information Management.”

SQLI will publish its results for the first half of 2017 on 26th September 2017 after the close of trading.