Brazil’s SoftExpert closes Europe M&A, sets eyes on Argentina

Brazilian managemente software firm SoftExpert closed an acquisition in Portugal to reinforce its presence in the European and African markets while it is preparing to boost its Latin American business with a potential new subsidiary in Argentina.

“In Latin America, we have the Mexico unit operating for more than five years. Last year, we started the Colombian subsidiary. And, at this moment, we are evaluating the opening of a third subsidiary, in Argentina,” founder and CEO Ricardo Lepper told BNamericas.

In Europe, SoftExpert acquired 100% of Portuguese consultancy EXEQ, the company told BNamericas exclusively. The transaction value was not disclosed.

EXEQ was a local partner of SoftExpert before the acquisition and responsible for the sales, implementation and support cycle of the company's solutions in the Portuguese market.

SoftExpert said Portugal offers a favorable scenario for the expansion of operations due to a stable economic environment, the language and EXEQ’s established customer base.

The acquisition is also aimed at creating, via EXEQ, a digital transformation services hub to serve Europe and Africa. Furthermore, SoftExpert plans to have subsidiaries in 20 countries by 2030.

At present, the Santa Catarina-based firm lists business units in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, the US, the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, Australia and Portugal.

It reports having more than 500 employees, 2,000 customers and 3mn users of its solutions in 50 countries. The company also claims to have more than 300 technology partners, including AWS, Baker Tilly and Kodak Alaris.

Asked about the subsidiaries' expansion model, whether via acquisitions or organically, Lepper said it will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

“When the most suitable scenario is acquisition and there are good options available on the market for it, we will look for local structures and already established investment funds,” he said.

Regarding business priorities, Lepper said the company is focused on deepening the verticalization (specialization) of its solutions to better serve different sectors of the economy.

Also, it is focused on structuring projects in a scalable way, “everything from specific and sectoral demands to corporate use in conjunction with ERP.”

SoftExpert, he added, wants to eliminate a multitude of "disconnected 'satellite' solutions," which in his view hamper the digital transformation throughout the customer’s supply chain.

Manufacturing, government, health, financial services, high tech and IT, education, energy, utilities, logistics, and retail, among others, are part of the verticals served by the Brazilian firm.