SoftwareOne to acquire Crayon in $1.4 billion merger deal

SoftwareOne has acquired fellow software and cloud solutions provider Crayon Group in a deal valuing the firm at $1.4 billion.

Switzerland-based SoftwareOne is one of the largest resellers of Microsoft licenses, offering software and cloud purchases, implementation, and support services.

Oslo-based Crayon, meanwhile, distributes licenses for hyperscalers AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, mainly in the Nordic region.

"SoftwareOne and Crayon have been strategic channel partners for Microsoft, and we are grateful for the work both companies have done to serve our joint customers over the years," commented Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Microsoft.

"As these companies come together, I’m excited to see the added value it will bring customers such as broader geographical coverage and enhanced service offerings to support their business transformation needs."

SoftwareOne and Crayon said they have a complementary geographical footprint, customer base and offering. The combined company will serve 70 countries and have around 13,000 employees, with revenues of about $1.78 billion.

The merged firm will be uniquely positioned to capitalize on trends such as public cloud adoption and an increased focus on managing cloud spend, data and AI, and security, according to SoftwareOne.

As part of the deal, the duo will also ramp up their coverage of the small and medium enterprise sector through SoftwareOne’s digital sales hubs and Crayon’s channel platform.

"Together with Crayon, we will have a broad global presence with extensive local reach, strong hyperscaler partnerships, including with Microsoft, and enhanced service offerings to meet customer needs," said Raphael Erb, chief executive officer of SoftwareOne.

"Building on our strong value-based foundations as leading global providers of software and cloud solutions, we will be very well positioned to drive accelerated growth and improved profitability."

The CEOs of the two firms, SoftwareOne's Raphael Erb and Crayon's Melissa Mulholland, will become co-CEOs of the combined company.

The companies said they hope to deepen their relationships with hyperscalers, thanks to a greater combined scale and the ability to offer global access across a range of customer sectors.

"By combining the strengths of Crayon and SoftwareOne, we are in a unique position to grow our global footprint and deliver exceptional value to our partners and customers as well as capitalise on new market opportunities. Our strong hyperscaler partnerships, including with Microsoft, will give us a strengthened services offering that will meet future customer needs," said Mulholland.

"I look forward to working with the SoftwareOne team, and my main priority is to ensure that our strong entrepreneurial and people-first culture remains the driving force in building our future together."

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter next year, subject to shareholder approval.