Eshgro attracts new investor for further growth

Boxmeer/Blaricum, Aug. 31, 2022 - Strikwerda Investments (SI) will become the new majority shareholder of Boxmeer-based IT service provider Eshgro, merging it with its portfolio company TSH. SI thus takes over from Amsterdam-based investment company Holland Capital. Eshgro receives support from the TSH organization and permanent capital from SI to shape the next growth phase and realize follow-up acquisitions. This will further accelerate the growth path for customers and employees.

Dutch leader in the field of Microsoft365 Cloud technology

In recent years, Eshgro has become one of the leading Dutch players in the field of Microsoft365 Cloud technology and has additionally developed its own software platform Smarter365. This innovative platform enables organizations to work measurably faster, easier and more securely. This transaction gives Eshgro the opportunity to pursue a long-term buy-and-build strategy with the ambition of becoming the Microsoft 365 Cloud provider for medium-sized organizations in the Netherlands. Together, the two companies have over 850 employees.

Edwin de Ruijter, CEO of Eshgro: “This acquisition is a logical next phase of growth for our company. Our strategy is to combine organic growth with acquisitions in adjacent market segments, further expanding our portfolio and customer base. We are therefore looking specifically for parties seeking a partner to enable the transformation to the cloud that we can help accelerate with our self-developed Smarter365 platform. In this way, even more customers can use Eshgro’s proven cloud solutions. Our entire management team will continue in its current role to realize this next step.”

"This acquisition is a logical next phase of growth for our company. Our strategy is to combine organic growth with acquisitions in adjacent market segments, further expanding our portfolio and customer base."

Strikwerda Investments (SI) is a family investment company that focuses on healthy, ambitious, medium-sized and large SMEs. It is a Dutch investment fund with a strong track-record in the ICT sector. SI is the majority shareholder in the ICT outsourcing company TSH and through this transaction will also become so in Eshgro. TSH has a long-term investment horizon and, in addition to its current strong organic growth, wants other leading ICT outsourcing companies to join the group.

Joris Dierick, CEO/CFO of TSH: “Eshgro has proven to have a strong approach to bring clients to the Microsoft cloud and accelerate them through their Smarter365 Platform. The joining of forces additionally allows the other companies within TSH to benefit from the partnership. Edwin and his team are a welcome addition to our team of ambitious entrepreneurs. In addition, Anton Loeffen, founder of Eshgro, in his new role as Chief Technology Officer of TSH, will help our company accelerate the next steps to the public cloud and the rollout of the modern workplace, enabling us to serve our customers even better in the future.”

Hubert Verbeek, managing partner Holland Capital says of the deal, “Since 2015, we have been involved in Eshgro as an active shareholder. We have actively supported management in the buy-and-build and strategic development of the company and are proud of what we have realized together. We wish the team, together with SI, every success in this next phase of growth.”

Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed. The transaction is subject to approval by regulator Authority Consumer & Market (ACM).