NederlandsInterstellar scores again twice with acquisitions Ask Roger! and Q conferencing
Interstellar continues its rapid advance. The ICT group formed this year has recruited the virtual collaboration specialists Ask Roger! and Qconferencing incorporated. As with the acquisitions of Databyte and CSN, the selling entrepreneurs were guided by Hogenhouck m&a.
Less than a year old, and already continuously on the acquisition path: Interstellar doesn’t waste any time. The ambitions are high. At the beginning of this year, the company was created from six regional IT companies that were mainly active in the west and east of the country: IT service providers Solimas, Exite ICT and CSN Groep, cloud company Fundaments and security specialists DataExpert and Pinewood.
With more than 400 employees, the new player immediately generated a turnover of more than €100 million – but it was immediately made clear that this would only be the beginning.
Interstellar CEO Maarten van Montfoort announced the first acquisitions before he officially took office, without naming specific names. He did, however, indicate that the acquisitions – the money comes from the Almelo Quadrum Capital – would take place “in the north or the south”, in the context of the ambition to become “the most relevant IT service provider in the Netherlands”.
Barely a month later, the first acquisition was indeed a fact. With the acquisition of DataByte, Interstellar gained 85 IT specialists and €20 million in revenue, and expanded its presence in the southwest of the Netherlands.
Double deal in video calling
With the just announced double acquisition of Ask Roger! and Qconferencing, Interstellar is taking the next step in conquering the Dutch market before the end of its first year. The group also responds to a theme that has rapidly gained relevance due to the corona crisis: virtual collaboration.
Delft’s Ask Roger! is a provider-independent, Microsoft omnichannel contact center and video specialist. The close collaboration with Microsoft is reflected, among other things, in the development of a digital counter service for Micsosoft Teams. Founders Rob Winkel and Patrick Scherbeijn will remain on board as directors. The third founder, Gerben Hoogwerff Kroon, leaves the company.
With a combination of software (Teams, Zoom, Webex, Pexip), meeting equipment and implementation and support services, Qconferencing from Diemen offers a full range of video conferencing services. The three-member management board, consisting of Pieter Peletier, Mans Lejeune and Jesse van Straaten, will remain at the helm of the company.
“The Interstellar group has grown to a turnover of €150 million in no time.”
“With the latest addition of Ask Roger! and Qconferencing, we are able to offer our customers an excellent addition to the collection and we immediately take a leading position in the Dutch market in this area”, says Interstellar CEO Van Montfoort in explanation of the two deals. “The combination of products and services from both companies gives us a unique position in the industry.”
In line with the companies already belonging to the Interstellar group, the two acquisitions will continue to operate largely independently. This way, the group hopes to keep the various parts “enterprising”.
From initiation to realization
Just as with the connection of CSN Groep to Interstellar and the subsequent acquisition of Databyte, the selling entrepreneurs were assisted by advisors from Hogenhouck m&a. The deal team that completed the acquisition of Ask Roger! consisted of Iris van Weel, Maarten van der Heijden and Rik Stikkelbroeck. The acquisition of QConferencing was supported by a team consisting of Mark van Beusekom, Tim van Zanen and again Rik Stikkelbroeck.
“Interstellar is taking another big step,” said Stikkelbroeck. “As Hogenhouck m&a, we have been able to supervise these transactions from initiation to realization. A very challenging and fun process. The Interstellar group has grown to a turnover of €150 million in no time.”
To be continued…
Moreover, 2021 is not over yet, and Interstellar has already announced that new acquisitions will follow before the end of the year. “In the coming weeks we will announce a few add-on investments, with which we can continue our ambitious growth”, says Van Montfoort.
And after that, the company continues to grow. “Further expansion in the Benelux and targeted acquisitions in the business solutions domain are on the strategic agenda for 2022. Think of the Microsoft Power platform, Dynamics and data management solutions.”