Laurent Kratz will be gradually stepping aside from Neofacto, which he headed until recently. The Luxembourg SME has been bought by the Czech company Aricoma. Photo: Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne/Archives

Laurent Kratz will be gradually stepping aside from Neofacto, which he headed until recently. The Luxembourg SME has been bought by the Czech company Aricoma. Photo: Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne/Archives

Neofacto, a discreet but efficient SME that has provided software solutions for the European Investment Bank, ING, Spuerkeess, Foyer and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, has been acquired by the Czech company Aricoma, which is looking to expand its activities in the Benelux countries and Germany.

A new chapter has begun for the serial entrepreneurs Pierre Gerard and : almost 25 years after Neofacto was founded to provide IT solutions, only the third member of the trio, Ludovic Compere, will remain at 100%, in a new configuration. The Luxembourg SME--which in 2023 recorded revenue of €10.3m, profits of €600,000 and 80 employees--has been bought by Aricoma, the Czech company announced in a press release issued 5 September. Aricoma itself recorded revenue of €400m and has 1,600 employees. It works, in particular, with Frontex and Europol.

Gerard stepped down as a director at the beginning of August. Kratz, for his part, will carry out a three-year transition on a part-time basis, essentially for the creation of new businesses based on the joint proposition of the two companies, notably around AI and crypto. The entrepreneur is still involved in the development of a fintech, Scorechain, capable of tracking crypto transactions.

“The acquisition of Neofacto is a logical step for us. It strengthens our work for the European Union institutions, including the supranational EU bodies based in Luxembourg. And of course, we are delighted to welcome dozens of experienced industry professionals among us. Together we can significantly strengthen our offering to the EU institutions, authorities, and other customers in the Benelux and DACH region,” said Aricoma CEO Milan Sameš.

“As we have declared recently, Aricoma has the ambition to expand into the Benelux and German-speaking markets. The acquisition of Neofacto is one of the first steps on our path to becoming a major provider of end-to-end IT services in Western Europe,” added KKCG chief investment officer and deputy chief investment officer Michal Tománek.

“We have entered a new phase in our more than 20-year history. Not only are we becoming part of a strong European IT company, but our business fits well with the work and strategy of Aricoma's international team based in Brussels and Luxembourg,” commented Neofacto CEO Ludovic Compere.

The amount of the transaction is not known.

This article was originally published in .

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