Valsoft Corporation strengthens Print & Publishing vertical with majority stake acquisition of Klopotek
Montreal, Canada, August 7, 2023 – Valsoft Corporation Inc. (“Valsoft”), a Montreal-based company specialized in the acquisition and development of vertical market software businesses, is pleased to announce its majority stake acquisition of Klopotek, an industry leader in ERP solutions for the publishing industry in 140+ locations with headquarters in Berlin, Germany.
Since its inception in 1992, Klopotek has been dedicated to supporting the entire value chain of print and digital publishing. The company’s solutions have played a pivotal role in the success of numerous large multinational publishing groups as well as small and mid-sized publishers, empowering them to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.
After more than three decades of leadership, Ulrich Klopotek von Glowczewski, Founder & CEO, has taken the decision to step down from all his roles effective immediately due to personal reasons. The responsibility of steering the company into the future now lies with Peter Karwowski, who assumes the role of CEO. Peter brings with him a wealth of experience in the publishing technology industry. His dynamic leadership and strategic vision position him perfectly to guide Klopotek through its next phase of growth and innovation.
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“This acquisition marks an exciting chapter in Klopotek’s journey and a significant step forward for Klopotek to extend its market position and offer new quality and services to our customers and the entire publishing industry” stated Peter Karwowski, Klopotek’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have found in Valsoft a strategic partner and investor to foster further growth and development for this next phase of growth, giving us a stronger basis to streamline our customers' business and meet the changing market requirements”.
With this latest acquisition, Klopotek becomes the first company in the Publishing vertical to join Aspire Software – the operating group at Valsoft. Klopotek can further strengthen its presence across the globe by leveraging Aspire’s existing presence.
“The acquisition of Klopotek aligns seamlessly with their mission to remain at the forefront of the publishing technology domain, equipping publishers with advanced tools and solutions to navigate the evolving landscape successfully” said Rafael Mazzeo, Operating Partner of Aspire Software, a division of Valsoft. “The world class management team at Klopotek is dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the company’s reputation for excellence and customer satisfaction. Customers can rest assured that Klopotek will continue to deliver exceptional products and services, catering to their evolving needs and preferences”.
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About Klopotek:
The Klopotek Group headquartered in Berlin, Germany is the international market leader in publishing software, contributing to the success of more than 400 publishers with over 3,000 imprints and over 24,800 users in 140+ locations, seamlessly covering every aspect of the publishing processes.
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About Valsoft Corporation:
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Valsoft Corporation acquires and develops vertical market software companies through which each business can deliver the best mission-critical solutions for customers in their respective industries or niche. A key tenet of Valsoft's philosophy is to invest in well-established businesses and foster an entrepreneurial environment that shapes a company into a leader in its respective industry. Unlike private equity and VC firms, Valsoft does not have a predefined investment horizon and looks to buy, hold, and create value through long-term partnerships with existing management and customers.
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Valsoft was represented internally by David Felicissimo (General Counsel), Oliver Gray (Senior Legal Counsel) and Elisa Marcon (Corporate Paralegal). Externally, Valsoft was represented by Eckart Budelmann, Johannes Hübner and Johanna Bohn of Addleshaw Goddard (Germany) LLP.
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For more information on the companies please visit https://www.valsoftcorp.com and https://www.aspiresoftware.com
Some background information on the majority stake acquisition of Klopotek by Valsoft
For some years, Klopotek has been in a transition to make the company and its customers future-proof in a rapidly changing and dynamic publishing market environment.
One part of this was a technology transition to create intuitive, browser-based STREAM apps, replacing and enhancing key solutions in many areas of publishing. An essential aspect of this transition is offering more sophisticated services to our customers, most importantly hosting options and support for crucial publishing processes in the Klopotek Private or Public Cloud.
The other part of Klopotek's transition process is restructuring its management, preparing it for new challenges and opportunities in the market.
Opening new perspectives
Valsoft acquiring Klopotek creates huge perspectives for the development of both companies. The company's founder, Ulrich Klopotek von Glowczewski, started the process of finding a reliable and visionary investor to help the company grow and make it more future-proof; the actual process of the merger was handled by the Co-CEO and CTO, Peter Karwowski, who will, from now on, be responsible as the new CEO of Klopotek with the support of Rafael Mazzeo.
Klopotek's customers around the globe and the entire publishing sphere, supported by our belief in making business processes more modern and versatile, can thus be confident that our company will remain and further develop to be an even more important driver of digital change.
Making a step forward for the company
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Uli Klopotek has successfully been shaping the company named after him for decades. His work and achievements as a unique mastermind in developing innovative publishing software can continue to grow significantly due to the acquisition.
Together with his team, he succeeded in establishing and constantly further improving the leading international software solution for all areas of publishing. Klopotek customers have thus been able to meet all the requirements of an increasingly complex and dynamic market – and will continue in so doing.
