The DL Software Group solidifies its international development with the simultaneous acquisition of the publishers Openbravo and Cow Hills

DL Software, specialist in business ERP, announces the strategic acquisition of two international software publishers dedicated to the distribution sector: Openbravo, of Spanish origin, and Cow Hills, of Dutch origin. This double operation allows the Group to act on its internationalization, to confirm its strong growth and to strengthen its Retail offer.

 

Reflecting an aggressive external growth strategy initiated several years ago, the DL Software Group is carrying out two new operations, bringing 10 the number of acquisitions made since 2021. Until then concentrated on the French market, the Group affirms its internationalization ambitions with the acquisition of two software publishers recognized on the European scene: Openbravo (Spain) and Cow Hills (Netherlands).

The Group now has 22 companies organized mainly in four Business Units (Retail, Real Estate, Health, Construction) and brings together more than 1,500 employees in 6 countries (France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Israel).

Benefiting since 2021 from the expertise and support of TA Associates, the Group's majority shareholder and leader in growth private equity, DL Software thus passes the milestone of 200 million euros in turnover. In 2023, the Group will pursue its pan-European growth strategy and intends to position itself as an international specialist in multi-sector business ERP.

The integration of Openbravo and Cow Hills solutions, each founded in 2006, comes consolidate the Group's Retail Business Unit by massively supplementing its offer of solutions dedicated to this market, and by significantly improving its ability to support the structural transformations of this sector (omnichannel, mobility in stores, new consumption patterns, etc.).

 

OPENBRAVO

Openbravo is a Spanish software company that designs a fully modular, web-native and cloud-based unified commerce platform. Its solution is aimed at retail and fast food players (“quick service”), enabling them to offer a more personalized and truly omnichannel shopping experience to their customers, online and offline, supporting scenarios such as Click&Collect among others. Established in Spain and France, in Lille, Openbravo already has a solid French clientele (Decathlon, BUT Stores, Norauto, Club Med, Zôdio, Flunch). The company has more than 140 employees and has achieved average interannual growth of approximately 25% over the past three years. Last September, the company obtained the certification “Great Place to Work” for France and Spain. 

" We are very proud to join a leader like the DL Software Group and to participate alongside it in the construction of a real hub of digital solutions designed to meet the needs of retailers and the catering sector. Strengthened by our Spanish network, together we will be able to accelerate the development of our activity in France and Spain, and thus build a greater presence in other markets, first on a European scale, then internationally. », comments Marco de Vries, CEO of Openbravo.

 

COWHILLS

Leader in its market in the Benelux, Cow Hills is a SaaS Unified Commerce software publisher designed for in-store retailers (management of customer loyalty and promotions, self-service checkout and reduction of queues) and online (harmonization of sales channels, management of online gift cards or data engine). Based in the Netherlands, Cow Hills has sales offices in South Africa and Norway, has 35 employees and is active in more than 20 countries. Founders Kees van der Veldt (CEO) and Mark de Graaf (COO/CTO) remain on the Cow Hills Board of Directors. 

" The Cow Hills teams are delighted with this merger with the DL Software Group. The contribution of our international network and the pooling of our expertise will allow us to meet the many challenges of the business ERP market related to the transformation of retail practices for more omnichannel and phygital. We are proud to continue our growth in recent years for the benefit of a player like DL Software and to be able to contribute to the realization of its international ambitions. », adds Kees van der Veldt, CEO of Cow Hills.

 

Jacques Ollivier, Chairman and CEO, DL Software Group, concludes: Rather than slowing down our growth program, the international context has, on the contrary, strengthened our determination to cross borders. We are delighted to welcome the 175 employees of Openbravo and Cow Hills and are very much looking forward to being able to count on their talents and their commitment. Because we share common values of transmission and a collaborative spirit, together we will be able to build a solid and ambitious business project. Opening up to the international market is an essential and priority issue for the Group: our rapprochement with these two European players is a first step. »

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About DL Software Group

Founded in 2003, DL Software is a specialist ERP software publisher. The group has 23 verticalized editors divided mainly into four Business Units (Retail, Real Estate, Health, Construction). Since 2021, DL Software has been supported by the TA Associates fund, a benchmark player in private equity, particularly active in technology investments.

www.dlsoftware.fr

 

About Openbravo 

Openbravo is the leading software platform for brands, retailers and restaurants who want to accelerate their unified commerce strategy and increase the agility of their operations. A fully modular platform to integrate the online and offline channel, with intelligent order management, a single, real-time view of customers and inventory, and a complete store and restaurant solution to deliver more personalized experiences and more practice. All in one and in the Cloud. International clients like BUT, Decathlon, Norauto, Sharaf DG, Toys 'R' Us Iberia and Zôdio, with a presence in more than 50 countries, have chosen Openbravo, which today has more than 10,000 back-office users and 40 000 customer touch points, such as point-of-sale and self-service terminals or kiosks, among others. 

https://www.openbravo.com/fr  

 

About Cow Hills

Cow Hills is a publisher of unified commerce software solutions for international retailers. Founded in 2006 and based in Maarn in the Netherlands, the company also has sales offices in South Africa and Norway with customers in over 20 countries. Cow Hills employs nearly 35 people. Cow Hills' SaaS offering is based on modular, cloud-native technology comprising a single software suite that includes online and offline integration with an omnichannel solution. In addition to its POS solution, Cow Hills' solution includes self-checkout, online cart calculation, back-office and mobile POS. Cow Hills stands out for its technology, its speed of deployment, its new developments and its international presence.

www.cowhills.com 

 

Advisors

DL Software was accompanied on these two operations by HVG Law (Hendrik-Jan Bleijerveld; Wienke Havinga) and by EY Société d'Avocats (Loic Jeambrun, Alexandra Arnould, Claire Schneider).

 

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