DATAGROUP SE: DATAGROUP acquires robotic specialist Almato GmbH

DATAGROUP acquires robotic specialist Almato GmbH

• Pioneer in automating standard business processes
• Expanded range for DATAGROUP customers in the growth market of robotic process automation

Pliezhausen, January 25, 2018. DATAGROUP SE (WKN A0JC8S) today announces the acquisition of all shares in Almato GmbH. A rapidly growing company, Almato adds to DATAGROUP's range in the CORBOX portfolio, offering the application of robotic process automation within companies.

Almato GmbH has 40 employees and generated annual revenue of some EUR 4m in 2016 at a double-digit EBITDA margin.

Founded in 2002, the software and IT service company headquartered in Reutlingen, is specialised in optimising standard business processes as a value-added reseller. Almato is one of the pioneers in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Real-Time Interaction Management (RTIM) in the field of full and partial automation in Germany. The company's customers are national and international companies from the fields of telecommunications, utilities, finances, retail, industry and tourism. Service quality and customers satisfaction are very important strategic factors for these customers. Almato focuses on standard software products that are introduced in line with customer needs and adjusted to accommodate individual preferences.

"Automation and digitisation of processes has long ceased to be restricted to the producing sectors. This is decisive for service companies to secure future competitiveness", says DATAGROUP CEO Max H.-H. Schaber. "We have known Almato as a reliable partner for some time and are really happy having gained the Almato team's expertise. It is a perfect fit to our existing CORBOX services, helping us to support our customers in automating their digital business processes going forward. We have identified many application areas in our own house as well, where fully automated processes for administrative activities would reduce an employee's workload, improve the quality and reduce costs." RPA is a software application managing user programmes required for a process in the same way as an employee, and which communicates with all the necessary systems, gathers information and changes the relevant data. Corporate and administrative processes are fully automated and thus can be worked through quickly and error-free and can be documented. Like an employee, RPA uses the frontend the way an employee does. There is no need for a backend integration with the associated expenses.

"Our solutions and services address an enormous growth market", says Peter Gißmann, Managing Partner of Almato GmbH. "The merger with DATAGROUP will improve our starting position that has already been good. As a pioneer in RPA applications, we will be able to fully exploit the great potential at hand. We look forward to continuing our dynamic development under the roof of DATAGROUP."

The company will presumably be consolidated in the DATAGROUP group from March 2018. It has been agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

At the balance sheet conference call scheduled for January 29, 2017, 3:00 pm, the Management Board of DATAGROUP SE will also provide details on this transaction.

About DATAGROUP:
DATAGROUP is one of the leading German IT service companies. Over 1,900 employees at locations across Germany design, implement, and operate IT infrastructures and business applications such as SAP. With its CORBOX product, DATAGROUP is a full-service provider, supporting over 600k global IT workplaces for medium and large enterprises. In other words: We manage IT. The company is growing organically and through acquisitions. The acquisition strategy is particularly noted for its optimal integration of new companies. DATAGROUP is actively participating in the IT service market's consolidation process with its "buy and turn around" and its "buy and build" strategy.

Contact:
DATAGROUP SE
Claudia Erning
Wilhelm-Schickard-Str. 7
72124 Pliezhausen
Phone +49-7127-970-015
Fax +49-7127-970-033
Claudia.Erning@datagroup.de