Equiteq advises Viseo on acquisition of Australia-based Cludo
French-headquartered global digital-focused tech company Viseo has acquired Australian Salesforce partner Cludo. The deal was supported by M&A advisory firm Equiteq.
Founded in 1999, IT services firm Viseo hosts 2,000 employees working across five continents. The company designs new products and services, digitises the business processes of its clients, as well as supports data analytics and digital assets development.
Headquartered in France, Viseo is currently committed to meeting ambitious expansion goals in the APAC region, including a goal of becoming one of the top three Salesforce-affiliated players in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) over the next three years. The Salesforce market in A/NZ is extremely lucrative at present, with Salesforce revenues in A/NZ for the year ended 31 January, 2020 seeing a significant increase of 215% from the previous year, reaching AU$520 million.
In order to ramp up its drive to win A/NZ Salesforce revenues, Viseo has acquired Cludo, a pure-play Salesforce Platinum Partner with offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The company provides advisory, digital transformation and support services across Salesforce offerings, with a specialisation in financial services, consumer solutions, and not-for-profits.
Co-founder and CEO of Cludo, Ian Goodwin, said, “This is a natural union and the synergies and points of connection were immediately apparent from the moment we started talking… This merger is great news for our people and will benefit our customers and the Salesforce ecosystem by allowing us to combine with a global leader and accelerate innovation and drive even greater customer success.”
With Cludo having completed over 200 Salesforce projects since its inception in 2016, joining forces will dramatically enhance the ability of both companies to deploy larger-scale digital projects across Australia and the APAC region. The addition of Cludo’s digital transformation expertise will complement Viseo’s comprehensive range of digital services offerings in particular.
Pierre-Francois Vieau, Managing Director of Viseo Australia, stated, "Viseo Australia is delighted to welcome the Cludo team into our organisation. We share a similar company culture and vision, and our potential synergies are aligned with our strategy to become a top three Salesforce player in AN/Z in the next three years.”
Dealmaker
Viseo’s acquisition of Cludo was supported by advisory firm Equiteq, a M&A firm dedicated to the professional services sector, and for over ten years the company has supported owners of consulting and IT services firms in helping them prepare their businesses for sale, as well as executing the transaction.
Regarding Equiteq’s role in the transaction, Olivier Dhonte, Vice President APAC and Chairman of the Viseo Group remarked, “Equiteq has been assisting us for years in our APAC expansion, including a previous acquisition in Singapore three years ago… Their deep understanding of the Salesforce market, together with the right combination of local and regional support, have been instrumental in the success of this project.”
Jean-Louis Michelet, Managing Director Equiteq Asia-Pacific, and Alex Monck, Managing Director A/NZ, added, “We are proud that our Australian team has made it possible for Equiteq to contribute once again to Viseo’s growth journey. Working with such a like-minded, ambitious and professional team is always a pleasure, and we hope to continue helping Viseo in their strategic development.”
