2023 Year-End Acquisition Summary
Volaris Group’s portfolio of standalone software companies officially passed the 200 mark this year, and we completed our largest transactions to date in 2023. Along the way, we made 28 acquisitions from 13 countries, expanding our presence in vertical markets like People Transportation, Education, Marketing Management, and Communications & Media.
Acquisition remains at the heart of our business. We continue to build on our culture of learning by sharing best practices and offering opportunities for our portfolio companies to learn from each other.
We look forward to welcoming more businesses to Volaris in 2024 as we develop relationships with M&A advisors, founders, and business owners.
-Mark Miller, CEO, Volaris Group
Overview of 2023 Acquisitions
As an active acquirer of software globally, we’re proud to have businesses in more than 50 countries worldwide. Given our expansive acquisition criteria, the companies who choose to join us vary widely in terms of market focus, geography, and technological offering.
Click on the logos in the chart below for more information on each company we've acquired this year.
Post & Parcel
Trends and highlights from 2023
Partnering on Corporate Carve-Out Opportunities
Volaris Group's reputation as a trusted, permanent home for corporate carve-outs was on full display in 2023, with acquisitions of all sizes coming through divestment transactions with industry-leading companies.
In August, Modaxo, Volaris Group's people transportation portfolio, entered the aviation and airport segment with the acquisition of Civix's critical infrastructure division. Under the brand TADERA, the new standalone company adds more than 40 years of experience serving the airport sector to Modaxo's robust portfolio of businesses serving bus, rail, and other transit industry partners.
In September, Volaris Group entered the Post & Parcel vertical market with the acquisition of RAF Technlogy from Matthews International. Then in November, Volaris acquired NOVENTIcare, a Berlin-based provider of software solutions for healthcare workers, from former parent company NOVENTI Group.
Shortly after, Lumine Group, the now-publicly traded communications and media portfolio that was founded within Volaris Group, completed the acquisition of the Messaging & NetworkX business units from Synchronoss. Messaging and NetworkX were the product of three previous acquisitions by Synchronoss, namely SPATIALinfo, Razorsight, and Openwave Messaging. Tony Garcia, Group President at Lumine Group, said the brands will be restored post-acquisition and operate as three autonomous business units.
Then in the largest divestiture deal of the year, Lumine announced its intention to make its second carve-out acquisition from Nokia. Lumine is set to complete the approximately €185 million euro purchase of Nokia's Device Management and Service Management Platform businesses in Q1 of 2024, and plans to restore the Motive brand as a stand-alone business unit.
Thought Leadership in Technology and M&A
In June, Mark Miller joined other tech industry innovators and luminaries from across the globe at Collision in Toronto. In his second appearance at Collision, Miller challenged some conventional wisdom around how to grow a business through mergers and acquisitions. Click here to watch the full talk.
In an October interview featured on The Wall Street Journal's website, Miller shared how giving business leaders full autonomy while providing access to best practices from across all of Volaris Group's businesses positions acquired businesses for long-term success. Click here to read the full article.
In a November feature, The Economist explored how Volaris parent company Constellation Software became "the world's best acquirer of tech firms," drawing comparisons to Berkshire Hathaway's method of seeking out companies with a "lasting competitive edge." Click here to read the full article.
Notable Vertical and Geographic Expansions
Modaxo, Volaris Group's people transportation portfolio, completed five acquisitions in 2023, making transit our fastest growing vertical market for the year. Staying true to Volaris Group's roots serving the transit industry, Modaxo strengthened its solutions for bus and rail operators, expanded its communication offerings, and made its first acquisition in the aviation and airport segment.
Modaxo's acquisition of SS Telemática in May was also part of Volaris Group's greater expansion into Latin America. Vencora, Volaris Group's Financial Services group, expanded its banking technology portfolio and its global footprint with the acquisition of Quarzo Tecnología in January. Then in May, Volaris made one of the company's largest investments to date with the acquisition of GOVERNANÇABRASIL. “This is an important milestone for Volaris in Brazil," Henrique Barreto, Group Leader within Volaris, said at the time. "It is a sizeable acquisition that confirms our commitment to the country and increases our presence in the Government Administration vertical."
Following the acquisition of CrossCap in 2022, Volaris tripled the size of our Marketing Management vertical in 2023 with two new additions. The acquisition of ClickDimensions from private equity firm Accel-KKR showcased the benefits of building lasting relationships in the software M&A space, allowing the company to seamlessly shift from a high-growth mindset into a long-term success strategy. ClickDimensions CEO Mike Dickerson said the transition to Volaris provided the right environment for the next phase of the company's development. Summing up the benefits of the Volaris buy and hold forever strategy, Dickerson said, "Sometimes you need to just let the souffle cook at a lower temperature for a little longer."
Let's Connect
We are actively looking to develop relationships with owners of vertical market software businesses and M&A advisors.
Do you own or represent a software company that could fit well with Volaris? Connect with us today.