Waterland becomes majority shareholder in IT platform dacoso
Hamburg / Langen — With the European investment company Waterland, dacoso has brought a strong growth partner on board. Together with the new majority shareholder, international expansion is to be driven forward and the successful course of the company, which is headquartered in Langen, Hesse, is to be intensified. In the course of digitalization, the markets for ICT networks and cyber security will continue to grow significantly globally in the coming years. dacoso, one of the leading IT service providers for networks and cyber security in the DACH region, also wants to benefit from this.
The sellers of the shares are the company founders Thomas Joswig and Horst Pohl as well as their two sons Felix Pohl and Robin Pohl; all will remain shareholders in the future and Felix Pohl will continue to lead the group as CEO. The transaction is still subject to customary regulatory approvals; financial details will not be disclosed
Founded in 2004 and continuously growing, dacoso GmbH is a leading IT network integrator and data security provider in the DACH region. The focus is on managed services for optical networks, intelligent networks and cyber security, which dacoso operates for its business customers in its own certified IT Network & Security Operations Center (SOC). These are complemented by services such as consulting, integration and rollout with nationwide field service — a holistic portfolio that focuses on performance, data security and economic efficiency as well as the customer’s critical infrastructure. The long-standing customer base includes numerous well-known blue-chip companies (enterprise and carrier), which use dacoso to connect data centers, network locations or set up carrier backbones, for example, and to identify and ward off attack risks. In addition to its headquarters near Frankfurt am Main, dacoso is present at eleven other locations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and generates a three-digit million euro turnover with almost 300 employees.
Thomas Joswig and Horst Pohl agree: “After 20 years, it is the perfect time to hand over the management completely to the new generation and to enter the next stage of organic and inorganic growth — we are delighted to have found a partner in Waterland who will closely accompany us on this path with expertise and financial strength. Both employees and customers will benefit from this partnership.”
CEO Felix Pohl says: “In Waterland, we have found a partner for our future path who has special expertise in the further development of growth companies as well as many years of experience in the ICT sector. The chemistry is also right — on this optimal basis, we now want to tackle the development of an internationally market-leading group of companies.”
Dr. Carsten Rahlfs, Managing Partner at Waterland (photo © Waterland), adds: “A stable ICT infrastructure with high transmission volumes and defense against cyber attacks are becoming increasingly important. The corresponding positioning of dacoso in its industry is already excellent in the DACH region; now we want to join forces to build a European market leader in the field of network integration and cyber security.”
Waterland is one of the most active European investment companies and has made numerous investments in the digitalization, IT and telecommunications sectors. In the DACH region in particular, the portfolio currently includes companies such as netgo (IT service provider), Hyand (software development), enreach (unified communications), Skaylink (managed enterprise platform) and Serrala (payment technologies).
About Waterland
Waterland is an independent private equity investment firm that helps companies realize their growth plans. With substantial financial support and industry expertise, Waterland enables its portfolio companies to achieve accelerated growth both organically and through acquisitions. Waterland has offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. Currently, approximately 14 billion euros in equity funds are under management.
Waterland has consistently outperformed with its investments since its inception in 1999. The company ranks fourth globally in the HEC/Dow Jones Private Equity Performance Ranking (January 2023) and seventh among global private equity companies in the Preqin Consistent Performers in Global Private Equity & Venture Capital Report 2022.
www.waterland.de