April the 6th, 2023 – The Croatian company Span has successfully entered the market of one of the most demanding and digitally developed markets in all of Europe – Estonia.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, with this new acquisition, the Croatian company Span is set to enter the market of Estonia, now known as one of the most digitally developed countries in all of Europe. In their notification to the Zagreb Stock Exchange, they state that they have signed an agreement with the seller, the Estonian trading company Fairway, to purchase 100% of the shares in the limited liability company GT Tarkvara, which is based in Tallinn, and which is a leading Estonian software asset licensing and management company with more than 25 years of experience under its belt.
The estimated value of the transaction stands at a massive 11,377,457 euros, where, as they stated, part of the purchase price that depends on the business results of the acquired company in 2023 and 2024 is subject to adjustment. The Croatian company Span’s latest acquisition was made just one year after the takeover of the domestic software company Ekobit, so this current takeover only confirms the company’s strategic focus on further growth and expansion into new markets, while the Baltic and Scandinavian countries are extremely digitally advanced and, as stated, show a growing need for additional expertise in the areas of Cloud and Cyber Security, a field in which Span is internationally recognised.
“With this acquisition, the Croatian company Span is going to enter the Estonian market, and Estonia is one of the most digitally developed countries in Europe. The expertise and market position of GT Tarkvara in combination with our advanced cloud and cyber security services are an excellent basis for further growth and business development on the markets of Northern Europe”, stated the founder and president of the Span Management Board, Nikola Dujmovic.
GT Tarkvara is otherwise a reliable partner to the largest companies in the software industry, as stated, for example, such as Microsoft, Adobe, Veritas, Citrix, Symantec, VMWare and other big names. They have been recording impressive and continuous revenue growth over the years, they’re focused on projects related to the digital transformation, as well as on cloud and cyber security. In addition to the private sector, they are also strongly positioned in the public and educational sectors.
“The Croatian company Span and GT Tarkvara are both leading Microsoft partners who will combine their many years of knowledge and experience with this acquisition. I’m happy that our existing clients will now have access to advanced cloud and cyber security services based on Span’s many years of experience working with large, global companies,” said Taivo Remmelgas, the owner and member of the Management Board of GT Tarkvara.
This acquisition also confirms the Croatian company Span’s strategic focus on the growth of its services with high added value with a focus on the areas of cloud and cyber security. According to the unaudited GFI for the year 2022, Span has recorded growth in all key business indicators. The Span Group’s revenues in 2022 amounted to 829.7 million kuna in total, which represents an increase of 8 percent compared to 2021.
EBITDA before one-off items also increased by 48 percent and amounted to 72 million kuna at the end of 2022. EBITDA after non-recurring items increased in the observed period by 65 percent and amounted to 70.1 million kuna. The Span Group’s net profit at the end of 2022 stood at 50.7 million kuna, which represents an increase of 113 percent compared to 2021. The share of revenues that the Group achieved in foreign markets in 2022 amounted to 68 percent. The most significant growth was recorded by the markets of Croatia and the USA, and the highest growth in income within the Span Group was achieved by services with high added value.
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