Another major player in the domestic information technology market will become part of the ARICOMA Group, which belongs to entrepreneur Karel Komárek’s investment group KKCG. Yesterday, the owners of KOMIX and representatives of the ARICOMA Group signed an agreement on the sale of a 100% share in the company. The transaction is still subject to approval by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚHOS).
For almost thirty years, KOMIX has been developing bespoke software for e-government, health insurance companies and major companies such as Škoda Auto, Nestlé or Porsche Czech Republic. In the past, KOMIX has taken part in projects such as electronic sick notes, biometric travel documents and an information system for the population register. KOMIX’s revenues rank it among the top 10 suppliers on the Czech market as concerns developing customised software. This year’s sales are predicted to reach more than half a billion crowns. KOMIX employs just under 300 people, above all developers.
“It is a great honour for me that we are to be part of the ARICOMA group and that we will play an active role in accomplishing its vision to build an ICT leader of European importance,” said Tomáš Rutrle, KOMIX’s director and current co-owner. “Thanks to this merger, we will be able to offer our current customers a much wider portfolio of services, whilst at the same time we will work with other companies in the group to reach out to new customers in the Czech Republic and abroad. We bring decades of experience to the ARICOMA Group, this includes large-scale projects, a passion for IT technologies and a proven ability to finish the job to a satisfactory conclusion for all. We firmly believe that we are at the start of an amazing story of digital transformation, one that is growing from its roots in the Czech Republic, and we want to be a fully-fledged part of it,” added Rutrle.
After acquiring the international company Seavus at the end of last year, ARICOMA Group is continuing in its acquisition campaign. Its goal is to build a strong European player in the field of ICT and SW solutions. According to Michal Tománek, KKCG’s Investment Director, who is responsible for all IT acquisitions, KOMIX’s entry is another hugely important step in this direction. “We have managed to acquire a company that is a perfect fit for ARICOMA’s current portfolio of businesses. Their expertise, products and customer base will ideally complement what we already have at this moment in time. What’s more, in the future, we will be able to offer this mix of services not only to the domestic market, but increasingly to foreign markets too,” said Michal Tománek.
According to Milan Sameš, the ARICOMA Group’s CEO, this further expansion of the group is a continuation of the strategy it set out four years ago. “The current developments in the company, which have been fundamentally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, show us that we have set off in the right direction and that our assumptions about developments in the market were correct. Customers are trying to accelerate the digital transformation as much as possible, and this brings new opportunities for the entire field of information technology,” said Sameš.
ARICOMA Group buys a 100% stake in KOMIX for a non-disclosed price. The entire transaction is financed from a bank loan and from the buyer’s own resources.
The company’s management, including its director Tomáš Rutrle, will continue to play a role in managing KOMIX.
KOMIX will act independently until the transaction is approved by the ÚHOS.
Once the deal goes through, the ARICOMA Group will comprise of 8 companies with a consolidated turnover exceeding CZK 8.5 billion, and an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of almost CZK 900 million. It employs over 3,000 people.
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