Nitro to acquire European eSign leader Connective

Nitro Software Limited (ASX: NTO or ‘Nitro’), a global document productivity software company driving digital transformation in organizations around the world, is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to acquire Connective NV (‘Connective’), a leading European-based eSign SaaS provider, for an enterprise value of €70 million (~US$81 million). The transaction, to be funded by a A$140 million (~US$104 million) capital raising, further cements Nitro’s position as a global eSign and document productivity leader.  

Acquisition Highlights:

·   The acquisition is in line with Nitro’s product-driven strategy, significantly accelerating and enhancing Nitro’s eSign, electronic identity (eID) and document workflow capabilities as customers increasingly demand high-trust and automated signing solutions.

·   Following the acquisition, Nitro will be positioned to become one of the top 3 global players in the enterprise eSign market—with the combination of Connective’s leading high-trust eSign capabilities and Nitro’s document productivity platform and global go-to-market reach.

·   Connective has a substantial customer base with over 1,000 mid-market, enterprise, and government accounts across Europe, including 8 of the 10 largest banks in Belgium and 60+ Belgian government agencies and departments.

·   Connective also has over 30 eID and smart card integrations across 20 countries – the most of any eSign vendor on the market today.

Over the past two years, the transition to digital solutions has rapidly accelerated as organizations look to deliver exceptional customer experiences, while meeting the demands of a growing digital-first workforce. Central to this transformation is the rapidly growing eSign market where high-trust signing is becoming the standard. Spending on eSigning solutions globally is expected to grow at a 29% CAGR over the next decade1, and the acquisition of Connective enables Nitro to further tap into the entire US$17B eSign market opportunity.

Founded in 2014, Connective is the leading eSign SaaS provider in Belgium, with fast-growing market share in France and a rapidly expanding customer base in 11 other European countries. The company focuses on serving the needs of enterprise and government customers that require high levels of trust, security and regulatory compliance and offers expansive eID support alongside a powerful document workflow automation solution. Key Connective customers today include the Belgian and French governments, BNP Paribas, Cofidis, ING Bank, Pirelli and Toyota.

The Connective acquisition represents a significant acceleration of Nitro’s enterprise eSign capabilities, providing high-trust signing via full Advanced Electronic Signature (‘AES’) and Qualified Electronic Signature (‘QES’) functionality as customer demand for high-security signing solutions continues to grow. Nitro sees enormous opportunity in adding Connective’s trusted products to the Nitro Productivity Platform, which already includes powerful PDF productivity, simple eSigning and industry-leading analytics capabilities.

Sam Chandler, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nitro, said: “This is a milestone moment in Nitro’s growth story. With the acquisition of Connective, Nitro is in prime position to become one of the top 3 global players in the rapidly growing enterprise eSign market, at a time where increased trust, security, and regulatory compliance are vital to business success. With data privacy and security at a premium, the future of eSigning is built around high-trust eID-driven solutions, and this acquisition positions Nitro to become a global leader in this space.”

“Connective’s Smart Document solution will also further bolster Nitro’s offering, making document workflow automation easy, powerful and available to all. There are a multitude of opportunities to drive additional demand of the Connective offerings within Nitro’s platform through our global customer and partner networks. Nicolas and his team have built a world-class company that tightly aligns with our mission of delivering best-in-breed, high value technologies with unparalleled customer service experience and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome the entire Connective team to the Nitro family.”

Connective CEO, Nicolas Metivier added: “We are delighted to have found a partner in Nitro that so closely aligns with our mission and vision, as well as our core company values. There was an immediate connection with Sam and the Nitro team, and it was clear to me how Connective’s market leading solutions could scale even further as part of the Nitro Productivity Platform.”

“Our market-leading eSign and eID solutions have helped us establish a formidable presence in Europe and with Nitro’s customer base and global reach, we are excited to expand this presence around the world.”

Connective brings to Nitro an experienced team of over 60 employees with significant domain expertise in secure, high-trust enterprise-grade eSigning, particularly in highly regulated markets, and more than 110 integration, lead generation and reseller partnerships. With Nitro’s and Connective’s combined 13,000+ customers in 150+ countries, and an expanded channel partner network, upsell and cross-sell opportunities are expected to deliver significant revenue upside.

Upon transaction completion, Connective will become an indirect subsidiary of ASX-listed, Nitro Software Limited. The complete Connective team is expected to join Nitro and promptly commence work on achieving revenue synergies and a successful integration. 

Further information about the acquisition and associated capital raising can be found at https://ir.gonitro.com/Investor-Centre/.