EQS-News: ALSO acquires largest IT divisions of Portuguese JP Sá Couto

ALSO acquires largest IT divisions of Portuguese JP Sá Couto

In a country with a Total Addressable Market of 1.5 billion €, its comprehensive ecosystem with currently about 3500 resellers makes the company one of the dominant players in the market. Combined with ALSO's digital management tools and operational excellence, this presents an excellent base to scale profitable growth. "It was very important for us to find a new owner for the largest part of our operations who will continue what we have built over the last 30 years, while JP Sá Couto Holding will continue focusing on education projects in Portugal and all over the world", states Chairman Jorge Manuel Fidalgo Martins Sá Couto.

The deal includes commercializing the educational platform and gaming brand of JP Sá Couto in Europe, complementing ALSO's already existing expertise and offers in these areas. Joao Paulo Fidalgo Martins Sá Couto, Vice-President, confirms: "ALSO not only understands our industry but also our culture and invests in our country and our team. I am very much looking forward to accompanying the transformation and integration of our company, passing on our knowledge and making the new entity a force to be reckoned with in Portugal and beyond."

With the acquisition, which is still subject to the standard regulatory approvals, ALSO is offering all its 3 business models in the region. Portuguese resellers will be able to establish and grow their consumption business with the company's Cloud Marketplace and the digital platforms like IoT, Cybersecurity or Artificial Intelligence. Migrating educational and gaming offers to the ALSO Cloud Marketplace (ACMP) will create an improved portfolio for end customers in all countries, enabling further monetization of the Unique Users.

Gustavo Möller-Hergt, CEO of ALSO Holding AG (SIX: ALSN): "By consistently following our strategy, we have enhanced our ecosystem and created additional growth opportunities. At the same time, we are constantly increasing our knowhow and vertical expertise to drive monetization." The company reiterates the 2021 guidance of EBITDA between 240 and 255 million € with a ROCE of 15 to 20 percent.

Contact ALSO Holding AG:
Beate Flamm
SVP Sustainable Change
E-mail: beate.flamm@also.com

ALSO Holding AG (ALSN.SW) (Emmen/Switzerland) is one of the leading technology providers for the ICT industry, currently active in 28 countries in Europe and in a total of 94 countries worldwide via PaaS partners. The ALSO ecosystem offers around 110 000 resellers hardware, software and IT services from more than 700 vendors in over 1340 product categories. In the spirit of the circular economy, the company provides all services from provision to refurbishment from a single source. The business activities comprise Supply, Solutions and Service. Supply comprises the transactional range of hardware and software. Solutions division supports customers in the development of customized IT solutions. Subscription-based cloud offerings as well as platforms for cybersecurity, virtualization and AI are the focus of the Service area. The main shareholder is the Droege Group, Düsseldorf, Germany. For more information, visit: https://also.com.

About Droege Group
Droege Group (founded in 1988) is an independent advisory and investment company under full family ownership. The company acts as a specialist for tailor-made transformation programs aiming to enhance corporate value. Droege Group combines its corporate family-run structure and capital strength into a familyequity business model. The group invests its own equity in "special opportunities" with a focus on mediumsized companies and spin-offs as well as strategically in buy & build transactions. With the guiding principle "execution - following the rules of art", the group is a pioneer in execution-oriented corporate development. Droege Group follows a focused investment strategy based on long-term oriented megatrends. Enthusiasm for quality, innovation and speed determines the company's actions. In recent years Droege Group has successfully positioned itself in domestic and international markets and operates in 30 countries. For more information, visit: https://droege-group.com.

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the ALSO management. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual development, in particular the results, financial situation, and performance of our Group. The Group accepts no responsibility for updating these forward-looking statements or adapting them to future events or developments.