Techstep ASA — M&A Activity 2017

Aug 15, 2017

Techstep announces its third acquisition in Sweden in 2017, complementing customer offering and pan-Nordic capabilities

Techstep announces its third acquisition in Sweden in 2017, complementing customer offering and pan-Nordic capabilities

Oslo, Norway, 15 August 2017, Techstep ASA ("Techstep") has entered

into a binding agreement to acquire 51% of Conneqted 365 AB

("Conneqted") for an aggregated purchase price of SEK 3.5 million

(the "Acquisition"). Furthermore, the agreement includes an option

for Techstep to acquire the remaining 49% of the shares.

Acquisition complements Techstep's "Mobile as a Service" (MaaS)

offering

Conneqted was established in January 2016 and offers a complete

Enterprise Mobility Management ("EMM") service, including Mobile

Security, system design, implementation, mobile device management,

maintenance and support. The service is offered together with

ecosystem partners Telenor, Tele2, TDC, MobileIron, Citrix, Samsung

and the Swedish telecom hardware provider BKE TeleCom AB ("BKE"),

the latter a recently announced acquisition (subject to closing) by

Techstep.

Headquartered in Karlstad, Sweden, Conneqted has only five

employees, but serves large and medium sized corporate customers

such as Volvo Cars, Svevia, Nasdaq, SKF, BillerudKorsnäs,

Wallenstam, Stockholms Stad and Ekonomistyrningsverket ESV.

Conneqted delivered revenues of SEK 8.8 million and an EBITDA of SEK

0.5 million in its first fiscal period from January 2016 to April

The acquisition of Conneqted is aligned with Techstep's strategy of

positioning itself as a leading Nordic enabler of the digital

workplace. While Techstep's current EMM offering (a part of its

total "Mobile as a Service" (MaaS) offering) has been based on

VMware, Citrix and Microsoft platforms, Conneqted's EMM offering is

mainly based on the MobileIron platform, thereby complementing

Techstep's existing platform and offering.

Combined with the previously announced Swedish acquisitions of

InfraAdvice (EMM specialist) and BKE Telecom (mainly hardware

provider), the acquisition of Conneqted gives Techstep the ability

to offer a one-stop shop in Sweden, and offer a pan-Nordic delivery

model.

"InfraAdvice, BKE TeleCom and Conneqted have combined competencies

and sales channels that complement each other and Techstep. With the

latest acquisition of Conneqted, we believe we have taken a solid

step towards creating a scalable pan-Nordic platform, and answered

our customers call for a strong Swedish presence", says Gaute

Engbakk, CEO of Techstep.

New cross-selling opportunities

Techstep's "Mobile as a Service" (MaaS) offering is a one-stop-shop

solution combining hardware, subscription & connectivity, mobile

device management, managed services and related software, in

addition to financing. The MaaS solution enables enterprises to let

employees do their work across mobile devices and locations with a

high degree of security and operational stability. For Conneqted,

the newly launched MaaS offering opens up new sales opportunities to

existing customers.

"We are excited about developing Conneqted further as part of the

Techstep group. We firmly believe in Techstep's mission to make work

life mobile through an integrated "Mobile as a Service" offering.

There is strong demand for mobility solutions, and we look forward

to continue building our customer base with a strengthened offering

together with Techstep", comments Roger Lövgren, Managing Director

of Conneqted

Transaction details

Conneqted is currently owned approximately 32% by Combined

Excellence AB and the remaining by four employees through individual

private holding companies. The Acquisition comprise all shares held

by Combined Excellence AB and the remaining on a pro rate basis from

the employee owners.

The purchase price payable at closing of SEK 3.5 million will be

settled by SEK 2.3 million in cash and SEK 1.2 million in Techstep

shares (the "Consideration Shares"). The Consideration Shares will

be issued under Techstep's current board authorization to issue

shares approved at the extraordinary general meeting held on 28

February 2017.

Closing of the Acquisition is subject to customary conditions and is

expected to take place at the end of August 2017.

For further information please contact:

Gaute Engbakk, CEO of Techstep: +47 91633281

Marius Drefvelin, CFO of Techstep: +47 95895690

Roger Lövgren, Managing Director of Conneqted: +46 70 589 00 06

Techstep ASA - we make work life mobile

Techstep is positioning itself as a leading Nordic enabler of the

digital workplace. Techstep's unique "Mobile as a Service" (MaaS)

offering is a one-stop-shop solution combining hardware,

subscription & connectivity, mobile device management, managed

services and related software, in addition to financing. The MaaS

solution enables enterprises to let employees do their work across

mobile devices and locations with a high degree of security and

operational stability. Techstep employs approximately 160 team

members based in Norway and Sweden, that serve close to 5,000

customers and 460,000 end users across various industries in the

private and public sector. Techstep had pro forma sales of

approximately NOK 720 million in 2016 and is listed on Oslo stock

exchange. For more information, please visit http://techstep.no/.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant

to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.