Sofindev invests in leading SAP consulting company Expertum

In order to support its growth, Expertum has entered into an agreement with Sofindev for an investment in the group. Through its recently raised fund, Sofindev VI, Sofindev is taking a stake in the Expertum Group. The founders of Expertum, Hans Bockstal and Wim Conings, will remain on board and retain a strategic interest. The current management team in Belgium, led by Bert Vanstechelman, along with Chris Walravens, Ilse Brock, and Katrien Ringoir, as well as the Dutch management team led by Sjoerd van Middelkoop, Reninca de Zwart, Pascal de Zwart, and Chris van Gerven, are increasing their stake in Expertum. They will also continue to be responsible for the day-to-day leadership of Expertum in Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Croatia.

Through the partnership with Sofindev, Expertum wants to continue and accelerate its strong growth trajectory of recent years. This collaboration aspires to further enhance Expertum's position as a leading strategic partner for SAP implementations and related services in the Benelux and beyond. This will be achieved by placing even greater emphasis on expanding existing capacity and innovation capabilities, diversifying the SAP product range, and cultivating sustainable customer relationships.

Expertum was founded in 2006 by two former SAP employees, Hans Bockstal and Wim Conings. Over the past years, Expertum has grown into one of the leading independent SAP consulting players in the Benelux region, with offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Expertum is renowned for its extensive group of highly experienced SAP professionals, which is why it is recognized as a reliable and accredited SAP partner with expertise in a wide range of SAP products and supporting services (e.g., SAP S/4HANA, SAP C/4HANA, SAP Rise, SAP Analytics, SAP Business Technology Platform, and more). Expertum holds the esteemed status of being an SAP Gold Partner and has received multiple SAP awards in recent years (SAP Business Technology Platform Partner of the Year in '23, SAP Award - Gold winner for rapid time to value in SAP S/4 HANA Cloud implementation in '23, and SAP Award for rapid time to value in '22).

Supporting companies in their migration to SAP S/4HANA, advancements on the SAP Business Technology Platform, and maintaining/monitoring their SAP applications around the clock (24/7) holds no secrets for Expertum. Expertum positions itself as a pragmatic, no-nonsense, long-term partner with a large team of highly experienced in-house consultants boasting diverse functional and technical expertise. As a result, Expertum has grown into one of the leading SAP implementation partners with a substantial and loyal blue-chip customer portfolio (> 150 customers) spanning various industries. In 2022, Expertum achieved approximately €25 million in revenue with over 150 employees.

Hans Bockstal & Wim Conings, Founders Expertum:

"We are extremely pleased with the partnership between Expertum and Sofindev. From the outset of our discussions, the Sofindev team has demonstrated its confidence in and knowledge of our market, Expertum's position in this market, and how we make a difference with our people. The personal connection with the Sofindev team and the shared vision regarding the strategy for our continued expansion were key to our decision to collaborate with Sofindev. We have every confidence that this new partnership will support our strategic growth."


Bert Vanstechelman & Sjoerd van Middelkoop, Partners Expertum:

“Sofindev's entry into our organization and the strengthening of the partnership among the partners of Expertum mark a significant new milestone for our company. People and quality are at the core of everything we do with Expertum. Quality in our work, quality in our solutions, and quality in our relationships with our customers. This approach has led to various industry awards and recognition from SAP and our customers as a competence center and reference in the Benelux region and beyond. With Sofindev on board, we are excellently positioned to take the next step in continuing our growth and enhancing our European presence within the same philosophy that has been the foundation of our growth and success."

Jan Camerlynck & Carlo Daelemans, Partners Sofindev:

"Expertum is a leading and innovative SAP partner that plays a prominent role in the SAP market in the countries where it operates. The strong position of SAP among multinational and medium to large enterprises, combined with the imminent transition to SAP S/4HANA that many companies will undertake in the coming years, creates an attractive market dynamic and significant growth opportunities. Furthermore, this market is still highly fragmented and numerous smaller businesses could benefit from a larger scale and synergies when they join the right growth platform. The combination of these factors, along with a high level of confidence in Expertum's existing team, leads us to strongly believe in the potential of this partnership, which aligns perfectly with our strategy to support the growth of leading enterprises and thereby create meaningful value."

The investment in Expertum Group is the first investment made by the Sofindev VI fund, which was launched in early 2023.

Expertum and its shareholders were advised in this transaction by PwC Corporate Finance and Van Olmen & Wynant. Sofindev was advised by Stibbe and LDS Advisory.

Sofindev is a leading independent private equity firm specializing in buyouts and growth capital for small and medium-sized enterprises in the Benelux region. Sofindev was founded in 1991 by two prominent family-controlled publicly traded groups. Since then, the Sofindev team has evolved towards complete independence and has surrounded itself with a broader range of respected family and (international) institutional investors. Among these investors are entrepreneurs and owners of family businesses in which Sofindev has previously invested.

Since 2015, over €500 million in capital has been raised to invest in Belgian and Dutch small and medium-sized enterprises, many of which have completed dozens of acquisitions both domestically and internationally. Currently, the Sofindev team manages the Sofindev IV fund (established in 2015) with committed capital of €107 million, the Sofindev V fund launched in 2020 with total commitments of €170 million, and the Sofindev VI fund launched in early 2023 with €250 million. The Sofindev funds invest in the equity of successful small and medium-sized enterprises in the Benelux region in partnership with the entrepreneurs and management teams of these companies, supporting their continued growth.

For more information about Sofindev, please visit their website: www.sofindev.com