PARIS, FRANCE – January 16, 2024 – Bloomin, a Paris headquartered software specialist in Employee Feedback and Employee Experience has announced its combination with Zest, the French leader in the Employee Experience and Performance market. Venero Capital Advisors acted as exclusive financial adviser to Bloomin.
The combined entity will be positioned as the Number 1 Made in France software suite dedicated to employee engagement, responding to a growing demand on the French and European market. The consolidation will enable both companies to innovate faster and provide better support for their SME and large-enterprise customers, positioning Zestmeup as an alternative to major US software publishers such as Workday and Qualtrics. As 2024 gets underway, companies and investors across all sectors look forward to a respite from the difficult narrative of 2023. In this report, we look at what happened in HR Tech and Work Tech during the last 12 months, including: historical and projected company growth rates, investment activity breakdown, M&A activity, trading and transaction valuation multiples, notable transactions.
ATHENS, GREECE – December 18, 2023 – SOFTONE Group of Companies, the leading provider of cloud-based business software in Greece and SE Europe, announces the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Sunsoft, a leader in the production of ERP and other advanced IT systems for catering and hospitality businesses. This strategic investment signifies SOFTONE Group’s entry into one of the most vital sectors within the Greek economy, characterized by substantial growth potential. Venero acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sunsoft.
M&A activity held up surprising well during the first half of 2023, with 155 announced acquisitions. This is not far off the robust levels seen in the dealmaking boom of the 2021-2022 post-Covid era. Buyers have remained active, and valuations have shown signs of recovery after contracting by c. 35% last year.
Growth remains the primary valuation driver for M&A. However, increasingly it is assessed in conjunction with capital efficiency, profitability, or with the potential for a business to achieve breakeven in the near term. Equity funding reached $6.1 billion in the first six months of the year, putting 2023 on track to be the third best year in terms of funding for the sector. However, this amount was invested across 274 transactions, which is a record low number of deals for the sector. LONDON, UK and COLMAR-BERG, LUXEMBOURG, June 19, 2023 – Venero further strengthens its unmatched expertise in HR Technology M&A with the appointment of Thierry Vanbever as Managing Director, European Coverage.
With more than 30 years of experience, Thierry is a highly regarded M&A and corporate development practitioner with a deep focus on HR Technology and Payroll Services. Prior to Venero, Thierry spent 15 years at SD Worx, one of Europe's largest providers of People Solutions, most recently as Director of M&A and Alliances, and Managing Director International, responsible for the development of SD Worx across key European markets. SAN FRANCISCO, CA and PARIS, FRANCE – June 7, 2023 – Clevy, a Paris headquartered international provider of AI conversational technologies for businesses, has been acquired by Fountain, the San Francisco headquartered leading Labour ATS and provider of hiring automation software for the hourly workforce.
Work Tech vendors have been investing in AI for years, yet generative AI will disrupt the Future of Work more quickly than people anticipate, and the impact will be much more pronounced. In this report we discuss why and how Generative AI will fundamentally change the competitive landscape, and why Work Tech vendors will need to establish a different competitive moat. We dive into the state of the Work Tech market, Generative AI use cases, early product releases, risks, limitations, as well as implications for M&A and VC funding. The report also looks at the impact of inflation, layoffs, lack of VC funding and tightening budgets on Work Tech vendors, and the outlook for M&A and fundraising. Current risks and limitations notwithstanding, the AI genie is now out of the bottle. As with other paradigm-shifting innovations, like the rapid democratization of the Internet following the release of the first Mosaic web browser, all vendors should take note and carefully assess the impact Generative AI is likely to have on their business. Venero Capital Advisors is organising an online webinar on How ChatGPT and Generative AI can be used in HR Tech.
The session will be led by Chris Collins, founder of RoboRecruiter (acquired), who now helps businesses integrate AI, Large Language Models and ChatGPT into their product offerings. Chris will provide an overview of ChatGPT's capabilities and will demonstrate relevant use cases for HR Tech vendors, including using its API's to create plugins. Topic: Using ChatGPT in HR Tech View recorded session, on-demand: Click here |