Visma

Visma

Type	Private
Industry	Computer software
Genre	Business software provider
Founded	Oslo, Norway (1996 (1996))
Headquarters	Oslo, Norway
Number of locations	Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, United Kingdom and South America
Area served	Europe
Key people	Øystein Moan, CEO
Products	Business software Retail IT IT consultancy E-government solutions
Revenue	NOK 9,146 million (2017)
Owner	HgCapital and co-investors (48.9%) Cinven (17.1%) Intermediate Capital Group (7.6%) Montagu (6.2%) Visma management (6.6%)
Number of employees	8,500 (2018)
Divisions	SMB, Enterprise, Retail, Custom Solutions and Commerce Solutions
Website	www.visma.com
Footnotes / references https://www.visma.com/about-visma/organisation/board-of-directors-and-owners/ https://www.visma.com/investors-relations/organization/group-structure/

Visma is a privately held company based in Oslo (Norway). The owners are: HgCapital and co-investors (48.9%), Cinven (17.1%), Intermediate Capital Group (7.6%) and Montagu (6.2%). The Visma management owns 6.6% of the company. The company provides business software, retail IT solutions and IT related development and consultancy. The company has 760,000 customers with the vast majority in Northern Europe. It has 8,500 employees and the net revenue amounted to NOK 9,346 million in 2017.^[1]

The company was formed in 1996 through the merging of the companies Multisoft, SpecTec and Dovre Information Systems. Today, the group comprises five business areas: SMB, Enterprise, Custom Solutions, Retail and Commerce Solutions.^[2]

Visma has offices in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania and Latvia. In addition, the company has 1,100 resellers and distribution through partners in several European countries. The headquarter is located in Oslo, Norway.^[3]

Organisation

Visma SMB The Software SMB division is headed by Division Director Steffen Torp. In 2016, the division had a revenue of NOK 3,900 million. Out of Visma's 8,500 employees, 2,472work in the SMB division.^[4]

Visma Enterprise The Enterprise division is headed by Division Director Nils Vold. In 2014, the division had a revenue of NOK 1,689 million. Out of Visma's 8,500 employees, 2,073 work in the Enterprise division.^[5]

Visma Retail The Retail segment is headed by Division Director Peter Fischer. In 2016, the division had a revenue of NOK 1, 039 million. Out of Visma's 8,500 employees, 678 work in the Retail division.^[6]

Visma Custom Solutions The Customs Solutions segment is headed by Division Director Carsten Boje Møller. In 2016, the division had a revenue of NOK 917 million. Out of Visma's 8,500 employees, 1,259 work in the Custom Solutions division.^[7]

Visma Commerce Solutions The Commerce Solutions division is headed by Division Director Eivind Gundersen. In 2017, the division had a revenue of NOK 806 million. Out of Visma's 8,500 employees, 534 work in the Commerce Solutions division.^[8]

Øystein Moan (CEO)

Visma CEO, Øystein Moan (born 1959), is an MSc Computer Science at the University of Oslo. Prior to Visma, Moan was the founder and Managing Director of Cinet AS. Since taking the reins as the CEO of the Visma Group in 1997, Moan has led the company to become one of the leading companies in the Nordic region. He has taken the company from 300 to 8,500 employees and increased the revenue from NOK 250 million to NOK 9,146 million (2017 figures).^[9]

Corporate history

1996 – The Visma Group has its first year of operations. Visma public on Oslo Stock Exchange. MultiSoft ASA, SpecTec ASA and Dovre Information Systems AS merge. Three key products: SpecTec (marine), Visma Logistics and Visma Business.

1997 – A turbulent year: Due to growth ambitions that exceeded the company's resources, the company experienced a financial crisis in the year's second quarter. The company had to be re-financed and re-structured, and most of the management and the Board of Directors were replaced. The turnaround: Øystein Moan joins as CEO, and a new strategy is put into action. The new board manages to raise MNOK 100 in new share-capital, but must lay off 1/3 of staff.

1998 – At the beginning of 1998, the company again emerged as a stable and strong enterprise, building the Visma Marine Division to a global leader within the fishing industry.

1999 – Visma establishes subsidiaries in Denmark and UK. The company makes its first step towards SaaS launching Visma Business e-commerce and starting work on developing web and WAP extensions of all the Visma applications.

2000 – The major event of 2000 was the sale of Visma Marine ASA’s operations to Dutch company Station12.^[10] Visma received a cash payment of MNOK 730. The considerable financial resources would be used to generate vigorous growth. New strategy: To offer both software and outsourcing within accounting, finance and payroll.

2001 – Visma acquires Spcs, the Swedish market leader within the small business segment.^[11] Later in the year, the company enters the Finnish market through the acquisition of Liinos.

2002 – With the Spcs developed software “Avendo”, Visma enters the Norwegian micro market. The BPO division enters the Danish market through the acquisition of Bogholderi & Administrasjon, and the acquisition of Møre Datasystemer sees Visma enter the public sector.

2003 – Visma enters major cooperation agreements with Norway's largest bank (DNB) and the national postal service.

2004 – Visma establishes an electronic data center in Oslo, which processed 2 million incoming invoices in 2005. The company also makes big strides in the public sector with debt collection and temp services added to the portfolio.

2005 – Steady growth – both organically and through eleven acquisition. Visma’s Management Trainee program is initiated.

2006–2008 – Visma enters the Dutch market through the acquisition of software company AccountView.^[12] A change of ownership sees British private equity firm HgCapital become the new majority owner. HgCapital de-lists Visma from the Oslo Stock Exchange.

2009 – The company’s Retail IT division is established, providing retail businesses with a complete setup – from hardware and implementation to consultancy and support. This is also the year Visma’s signature headquarter building in Skøyen, Oslo is completed ready to house 800 + of the company’s Norwegian staff.^[13] Visma reaches a landmark 10,000 SaaS users and becomes Finland’s second largest accounting firm.

2010 – Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) acquires a 76.9% ownership in Visma.^[14] At the time, the transaction values Visma at an enterprise value of NOK 11 billion. Visma was KKR’s first investment in Norway. HgCapital, the previous majority owner of Visma, retained a significant minority ownership of 17.7% Management of Visma increased its ownership in the business to 5.3%.^[15] Earlier that year, Visma entered the IT consultancy market in Norway, Sweden and Denmark through the acquisition of Sirius IT^[16]

2011 – In Norway, Visma acquires Mamut, its rival in the micro segment.^[17][18] Included in the acquisition is international web hosting company Active24.

2012 – Visma launches Visma.net – a world-leading SaaS solution for small and medium-sized businesses.^[19] At launch, the suite includes ERP, CRM and Expense Management. Later this year, Visma introduces Net Promoter Score – a renowned customer satisfaction and nurturing program

2013 – Visma signs its biggest deal to date to develop admin and communication solution for Norwegian schools. Through the acquisition of the Duetto Group, Visma enters the Finnish debt collection market.^[20]

2014 – Visma widens its shareholder base to include Cinven and is valued at NOK 21 billion.^[21][22] The new owner structure becomes Cinven, HgCapital and KKR with 31.3% ownership each, and the Visma management with 6% ownership.^[23]

2015 – Visma establishes a new business unit – Visma Employee Management – dedicated to payroll and HRM outsourcing services. Visma also conducts several major acquisitions: e-conomic (DK), SpeedLedger (SE), Huldt & Lillevik(NO), PBJ (DK), Viklo Oy (FI), Aditro Public (SE), Digital Booker (FI) and Abalon (SE).^[24]

2016 – Visma sells its BPO-division (outsourced accounting, payroll and HR services) to HgCapital to focus on its position as a cloud software company for business customers. Visma also acquires 20+ cloud software companies all over Europe.^[25]

2017 – Through acquiring Bluegarden, Visma’s largest acquisition to date, the company gains a significant position in the Danish payroll segment. During the year, Visma acquires a total of 12 companies, among them Admincontrol, Megaflex Oy and NYCE solutions, expanding its offering in several new business areas.

In June, Visma’s shareholder structure changes after KKR sells its entire remaining stake in Visma to an investor group led by HgCapital together with GIC, Montagu and ICG.^[26]

References