Valsoft
Corporation Inc. (‘Valsoft’), a Montreal-based
company specializing in the acquisition and
development of vertical market software businesses,
is pleased to announce the acquisition of
Communications Software (Airline Systems) Limited (Commsoft
OASES), a leader in the aviation engineering and
maintenance software market, based in Tiptree, UK.
Founded as a software house in 1971, Communications
Software (Airline Systems) Limited won its first
airline contract in 1975 with industry innovator
Laker Airways in the UK, leading to the launch of
the predecessor to OASES (Open Aviation Strategic
Engineering System) the following year. Since its
first association with the airline industry over 40
years ago, Commsoft has been continually developing
its MRO IT system, now called OASES – a process that
has been shaped in large part by feedback from its
clients.
Gary Pollak, James Stock, David Pusey and Nick
Godwin are extremely proud of the company they,
along with their employees, have built and are
optimistic about the company’s future.
‘In Valsoft,
we have found a cultural fit and an entrepreneurial
team that we confidently believe will be able to
help Commsoft continue to grow and evolve. We are
confident our customers are in good hands,
benefiting from a team of dedicated, passionate
aviation professionals, and the backing of a larger
software organization’,
said Gary Pollak.
The directors will remain involved to ensure a
smooth transition, while Nick Godwin, will continue
to lead the company as Managing Director. The
company will continue to develop and support OASES,
as well as all other products and services,
providing a robust software solution to customers.
‘This acquisition is a milestone in Valsoft’s growth.
We are entering a new and exciting vertical, with a
business that has a long history of providing
high-quality mission-critical solutions. We plan to
invest tens of millions in the aviation software
space through additional acquisitions and the
development of complementary technologies. As such,
this will further build on Commsoft’s reputation of
customer success. We welcome the Commsoft team,
clients and partners to our family and look forward
to years of prosperous growth’.
said Stephane Manos,
Head of M&A and Co-Founder of Valsoft.
‘We will do
our utmost to ensure that the directors’ legacy
thrives and that customers continue to benefit from
world class products and support’.
Communications Software's OASES (Open Aviation
Strategic Engineering System) is amongst the most
successful aviation engineering and maintenance
systems in the world. With over 130 aviation
customers supported in over 55 countries and 6
continents, including national carriers, 3rd party
maintainers, regional carriers, leasing companies,
cargo specialists, charter operators and specialist
rotable stockists, based in the USA, Europe, The
Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australasia, we have a
very broad experience of all areas of aviation
maintenance support.
Valsoft Corporation acquires and develops vertical
market software companies, enabling each business to
deliver the best missioncritical solutions for
customers in their respective industry or niche. A
key tenet of Valsoft’s philosophy is to invest in
well-established businesses and foster an
entrepreneurial environment that molds a company
into a leader in its respective industry. On average,
companies acquired by Valsoft have experienced
growth north of 25% in the 18 months
post-acquisition, all the while benefitting from a
steady improvement of customer satisfaction (as
measured by the Net Promoter Score). Unlike Private
Equity and VC firms, Valsoft does not have a
pre-defined investment horizon and looks to buy,
hold and create value through long-term partnerships
with existing management.
Valsoft Corporation was represented internally by
David Felicissimo, General Counsel & Aude Florin,
Legal Counsel, and by Russel Shear and Christophe
Robert of Edwin Coe LLP. HSKS Greenhalgh acted as
the exclusive corporate finance advisor to the
selling shareholders of Commsoft OASES on this
transaction. The selling shareholders of Commsoft
OASES were represented by Martyn Brierly and William
Bowler of Flint Bishop LLP.
