Last week, the Bulgarian public company Bianor Holding announced they have acquired Digital Lights, together with 51% of Prime Holding. The €50M M&A deal consolidates the companies under a new brand, Wiser Technology, aiming to enhance the performance of the merged companies.
This strategic move happens after Bulgarian private equity firm BlackPeak Capital announced its latest €6.8M investment in Bianor Holding, with the aim to support Bianor’s organic growth and focus on accelerating the company’s development through mergers and acquisitions. It is important to highlight that a pivotal element of BlackPeak’s strategy involves backing the growth of mature companies through M&As.
Over the past year, the pro forma consolidated revenue of Bianor, Prime, and Digital Lights reached €28M, with a combined team of 500+ software engineers, scientists, and consultants.
The Bigger Picture
As the ecosystem has developed, various companies in CEE utilize mergers and acquisitions as a key element in their strategies. M&A deals showcase an opportunity to gain competitive advantages and enhance value by leveraging synergies and emphasizing growth, global expansion, and competitiveness.
As we previously shared with our readers, the Deloitte Report indicates a decline in M&A activity across Europe in 2023, though Bulgaria stands out as one of the countries remaining stable to this trend. Since the beginning of the year, a number of Bulgarian enterprises have announced M&A activities.
Get the Details
The deal represents a merger of the companies already part of Bianor Holding, with Prime Holding and Digital Lights. Since a significant portion of the transaction will be executed as a share swap, the founders and the key shareholders of Prime Holding and Digital Lights will become significant shareholders in Wiser Technology.
“Back in 2020, we recognized that consolidation was the best way to ensure the long-term well-being of companies in our industry that had reached a certain size,” said Georgi Sokolov, co-CEO of Prime Holding. “Since then, we’ve had dozens of meetings with potential strategic partners and investors, and we’ve been prudent about picking the right one. The significant synergies with Bianor and Digital Lights were obvious from our very first joint meeting.”
Initially, the companies within Wiser Technology will continue to operate largely independently within their existing structures while the group centralizes corporate development, finance, marketing, and sales. Dimitar Dimitrov, CEO of Digital Lights, and Georgi Sokolov, CEO of Prime Holding, will be nominated as members of the Board of Directors of Wiser Technology. Kosta Jordanov, co-founder and CEO of Bianor Holding, will serve as CEO of Wiser Technology and will remain on its Board of Directors.
Wiser Technology primarily targets sectors such as telecommunications, automotive, aerospace, defense, and finance, among others. Some of the group’s clients and project partners are Airbus, Leonardo, Indra, IBM, UniCredit, Nokia, Bosch, and more.
The merger is facilitated by the Private Equity fund BlackPeak Capital, along with institutional investors Guarantee Fund, Advance Invest, Impulse Growth, and others.
The Expected Synergies Effect
The leads of Wiser technology, Kosta Jordanov, CEO of Bianor Holding, Georgi Sokolov, co-CEO of Prime Holding, Dimitar Dimitrov, CEO of Digital Lights, shared for The Recursive that this consolidation provides the foundation for further development. By what exactly do they expect from the new company?
“The expanded portfolio of clients and industries brings diversification, leading to more stable and predictable operational performance. Moreover, the merger enhances our technological capabilities, enabling seamless knowledge-sharing and more efficient utilization of internal expertise across various domains. This increased scientific competence will enable Wiser to deliver even greater value to our customers and participate in more comprehensive and strategic projects,” explained the representatives.
“The whole is way greater than the sum of its parts” is the credo, standing out as a driving force for the new company. Their strategy focuses on consolidating the local talent and developing it into an enterprise capable. By leveraging the synergies among the three companies, Wiser aims to create a strong player in the IT industry, originating from CEE.
Upcoming Initiatives
One of the key priorities in front of Wiser would be building a stable brand and establishing it as a valuable asset for all stakeholders – customers, investors, and employees, explained company’s representatives.
Moreover, Wiser would aim to organize and streamline the integration of all services and businesses that are now part of the company. They are also eyeing an expansion in Western Europe and the US “through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, which will help us stay closer to our customers and deliver even greater services.”
Their mid-term plans also include exploring a dual listing on a major global stock exchange to unlock access to a broader investor base.
Finally, it’s important for Wiser to contribute to the local educational ecosystem. The company executives plan to broaden and strengthen their involvement with science academies, universities, and high schools.
