German Equity Partners IV (“GEP IV” or the “Fund”), a fund managed by German investment company ECM Equity Capital Management GmbH ("ECM"), today announced the sale of its majority stake in the DACH market leader for tech-enabled language and technology solutions Apostroph Group to TransPerfect, the globally leading LSP headquartered in the USA.
Strategic development under GEP IV ownership
Apostroph Group, headquartered in Lucerne/ Switzerland and Ahrensburg/ Germany, was founded in the early 1990s and today employs more than 100 people across 10 locations in the DACH region. Apostroph Group provides its more than 3,000 customers with premium language and technology solutions focussing on the management of highly complex and mission critical language projects with zero-error tolerance. The Company’s customer base includes SMEs as well as blue-chip customers, NGOs, government offices and public authorities.
During GEP IV’s ownership Apostroph Group gained significant market share in the DACH region driven by organic growth as well as the successful execution of a buy-and-build strategy. Since 2016, management has created an integrated group from 7 strategic acquisitions broadening the Company’s service portfolio, extending its geographical reach, entering new industry verticals and leveraging its operational platform. Further, the Company has significantly invested in building a state-of-the-art technology platform driving operational efficiency, digitalization and customer service. Today, Apostroph Group operates a proprietary end-to-end technology platform with deep customer system integration that enables the company to manage customer projects with a high degree of automation.
Strategic fit with TransPerfect
The addition of Apostroph Group expands TransPerfect’s existing footprint in the strategically important DACH region, which includes multiple client service, production, and studio facilities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. As with prior acquisitions for TransPerfect, the strategy will be to focus on growing the business by mutually sharing expertise and resources to better serve customers. The companies will mutually benefit from the strategic combination.
TransPerfect President and CEO Phil Shawe stated, “Having competed against Apostroph Group in the DACH region for more than twenty years, we know they do excellent work and are highly respected by their clients. We are proud to now be part of the same team and would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone at Apostroph Group.”
About ECM Equity Capital Management GmbH (“ECM”)
ECM is a trusted growth partner for mid-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs in German-speaking Europe. Since 1995, ECM has raised the private equity funds GEP I-V with aggregate equity commitments of more than €1 billion and currently invests out of the fifth fund GEP V (€325 million). The funds invest primarily in leading mid-market companies with attractive growth potential in the context of ownership successions, partnership transactions and corporate spin-offs.
Further information at: https://www.ecm-pe.de/en/
About Apostroph Group
Apostroph Group is based in Lucerne, Switzerland and Ahrensburg, Germany and was founded in the early 1990s. The company is a leading language and technology solution provider in German-speaking Europe, working for SMEs and international corporations, NGOs, government offices and public authorities. Apostroph Group provides its customers with a full-service offering and the ability to deliver highly complex projects. With a total of 10 offices across Switzerland and Germany, the company employs approx. more than 100 employees.
Further information at: https://apostrophgroup.ch/
About TransPerfect
TransPerfect is the world’s largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business. The company was founded in 1992 with a mission to provide the highest quality language services to leading organizations worldwide. Since then, the company spent more than three decades solving global business challenges for our clients. Today, TransPerfect serves 10k+ clients in 52 countries through 160+ offices with 9,500+ employees.
Further information at: https://www.transperfect.com/