25 Feb 2025
Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced that it has agreed to sell its majority stake in Contentserv (or “the Company”), a leading provider of AI-fueled Product Information Management (PIM) and Product Experience Management (PXM) solutions, to US-based Centric Software, a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: FR0014003TT8, DSY.PA).
Headquartered in Germany, the Company enables fast-moving consumer goods and other companies to create and manage product content intuitively and effectively by means of AI to optimize consumer experiences across all digital sales channels. With Contentserv solutions, retailers, brands and manufacturers are able to execute strategies such as more or simply better product offers, regions and sales channels for increased product sell-through. Contentserv users have reported ROI such as a 30% reduction in time to market, 70% faster catalogue creation, 75% more accurate product information and increased sales channel coverage in more languages.
Since Investcorp’s acquisition in 2019, the Company has grown its recurring revenues approximately sixfold and today serves over 1,600 customers in 90 countries globally. In 2023, Contentserv completed the strategic add-on acquisition of Shoppingfeed in France, which significantly bolstered its European presence and expanded its product capabilities into the complementary feed management category, which has been very well received throughout its customer base.
Georg Knoflach, Managing Director, Investcorp, said: “Our investment in Contentserv builds on a tradition of supporting fast-growing technology businesses in the DACH region, to accelerate growth, internationalize and expand into new product categories, both organically as well as through M&A. Over the last five years Contentserv has grown rapidly and developed a market leading product offering, and we are delighted to see it well prepared for its next chapter with Centric Software.”
Michael Kugler, CEO, Contentserv, said: “Investcorp has been a wonderful partner for Contentserv’s growth over the last five years, helping us to continue our international expansion, to where we now stand as a global company. Thanks to their support, we feel like we are in a stronger position as we join Centric Software, to double down on our product strategy and continue to the next, exciting chapter of Contentserv.”
Investcorp has a long history of investing in and supporting technology-enabled businesses, with notable investments including VEDA, NetRom Software, Zift Solutions and HWG Sababa. The sale of Contentserv follows previous successful exits in other DACH headquartered software companies, including Avira (sold to NortonLifelock) and Softgarden (sold to Grupa Pracuj).
The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q1 2025 and is subject to customary regulatory and other closing conditions.