Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships in March 2023

msg and Digital Seals

msg Group strengthens its position in CRM and Digital Business Models by acquiring a majority stake in Digital Seals.

msg has held a majority stake in the Berlin-based digital agency Digital Seals GmbH since December 6, 2022. Digital Seals will continue to be managed by its founders and will focus on front-end development based on CX/UX/UI methods and the development of new digital business models. The mission of the company, which was founded in 2020, is to develop digital solutions that feel simple and intuitive and thus create trust. msg is expanding its existing offering for the strategically important Digital Services segment with this majority stake.

The company Digital Seals will remain independent within the msg Group and will continue to be managed by the current managing directors Marc Borowy, Leo Laun, Dirk Emmers and Florian Eismann. In addition to its expertise in user-centric front-end development, Digital Seals also offers back-end development, product and project management, and consulting. Through msg's involvement, for example, Digital Seals can draw on the group's industry expertise, market access, and global resource strength.

Holger Gorissen, Chief Digital Officer at msg, emphasizes: "Digital Seals expands the msg Group's range of services with digital expertise and digital solutions with a wow effect. The collaboration focuses on excellent software that is technically modular and scalable while looking and feeling good for all users."

“The collaboration focuses on excellent software that is technically modular and scalable, while looking and feeling good to all users.“

Holger Gorissen,
Chief Digital Officer, msg

Scheer acquires US consulting firm BPM-D 

Saarbrücken-based software and consulting company Scheer follows the high demand for business process know-how in the American market. 

At the beginning of the year, the Scheer Group announces the acquisition of the American consulting company BPM-D by its subsidiary Scheer Americas. The acquisition expands the software and consulting company's global presence: In North America, the company's offices in Boston and Dover are now joined by an additional mainstay in Philadelphia. The group is reacting to the high demand for business process know-how in the North American market. The goal is to successfully combine SAP's Signavio business process transformation solutions with Scheer's expertise and innovative solutions in the area of digital transformation. The American market is proving to be particularly interesting for Scheer, as it represents an important hub for globally active companies. In addition, with many well-trained specialists with SAP experience, it offers enormous opportunities and great potential. With BPM-D, Scheer is taking over an established consulting firm with which the Scheer companies have had close ties for years. The two approaches of process discipline and implementation experience are now even more strongly bundled in the Scheer Group as a result of the acquisition.

Abat opens subsidiaries in China and Lithuania

The German SAP service provider is opening up two new locations in Beijing and Vilnius.

Abat opens two new branches in China and Lithuania. The SAP service provider, software developer and vendor is thus consistently pursuing its strategy of global growth. The office in China is located in the capital Beijing and as of January 1, 2023, the team includes four employees and is expected to grow to ten by the end of 2023, with further hires planned. These take care of the acquisition of customers in China and in Asia and work together with their colleagues from the other Abat locations on large international projects.

In addition, Abat Lithuania has been a member of the Abat Group since summer 2022 with its headquarters in the CORE Business Center in Vilnius. The current five employees support customers among other things through language competence, personnel continuity as well as seamless integration into the proven Abat service model in cooperation with other locations. 

OpenText buys Micro Focus

OpenText, a major Canadian software company, acquires Micro Focus, a British information technology company.

OpenText has completed the previously announced acquisition of Micro Focus. Micro Focus is a UK-based international provider of software technologies and services that enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation. Mark J. Barrenechea, OpenText CEO and CTO, commented, "With this acquisition, OpenText reinforces its mission to help organizations secure their processes, gain deeper insights and intelligence from their data, and better manage an increasingly hybrid and complex digital fabric with a new generation of tools that include Cybersecurity, Digital Operations Management, Applications Modernization and Delivery, and AI and Analytics." Barrenechea concluded, "We are ready and excited to win the information management market, deliver strong customer outcomes and drive business growth.

"This new generation of information management software will help companies to drive their digital transformation, secure their growth and reduce costs at the same time."

Mark J. Barrenechea,
CEO and CTO, OpenText

GP+S Consulting becomes part of the BTC Group

With retroactive effect from January 1, BTC is taking over 100 percent of Bad Homburg-based GP+S Consulting, which will continue to operate as an independent consulting firm after the merger. The team of 25 permanent employees and a large freelancer network brings expertise primarily in the field of strategic management consulting for growth and transformation. GP+S Consulting is an internationally active consulting and services company. The experts combine comprehensive competencies in strategy and organizational development with in-depth technology know-how and many years of operational implementation experience. From now on, BTC customers will benefit from the interlinked business and IT expertise in the form of reduced management effort of different partners and simplified and efficient project handling. The two companies got to know each other in joint customer projects and uncovered synergies. GP+S accompanies customers through transformation processes and has found a partner in BTC in the past.