Founders and Fortino Capital Partners have sold DOBCO Medical Systems to Dedalus, a portfolio company of Ardian
Amsterdam – CFI advised Messrs Jan Dobbenie and Kristof Coucke (founders), and Fortino Capital Partners (‘Fortino’) on the sale of their shares in DOBCO Medical Systems N.V. (‘DOBCO’) to Dedalus S.p.A., a portfolio company of Ardian.
Founded in 2011 and with offices in Zele (Belgium) and Malaga (Spain), DOBCO is a Belgium-based provider of a patient-centric and cloud-native software platform for medical imaging to +300 clients consisting of large hospitals, private practices and radiology chains across Europe. DOBCO successfully launched its flagship Picture Archiving and Communications System (’PACS’), which brings a cloud archive and full workstation diagnostics functionality for medical imaging to radiologists and other users. Its full PACS suite was introduced in 2020 after gaining critical mass across Europe with its launching product: the web-based medical imaging exchange platform PACSonWeb, allowing radiologists to work-from-anywhere, anytime and on any device. DOBCO also markets its proprietary SaaS Radiology Information System (‘RIS’) that focuses on optimising the radiology administrative workflows. DOBCO’s ready-to-go, next-generation diagnostics software platform effectively replaces legacy systems, whilst breaking down hospital walls and other barriers to future-proof and effective (digitalised) care.
Fortino Capital Partners is a European investment company that invests in high-growth B2B software solutions, including SaaS, PaaS & digital technology companies. Fortino contributes by leveraging its deep operational and strategic expertise, especially in the area of product market fit and software development. In 2018, Fortino joined the founders of DOBCO as a minority shareholder to support the Company with its international growth and increased investments in R&D.
Dedalus Group is the leading healthcare and diagnostic software provider in Europe, supporting the digital transformation of 6,100 hospitals and 5,300 Laboratories worldwide and managing more than 330 million patient records. The company employs more than 6,000 highly skilled professionals and has the largest software R&D team in the industry in Europe with more than 2,000 staff. Today, 75% of the shares in Dedalus Group are held by a vehicle that is majority owned by Ardian, with the remaining 25% held by its founder Mr Giorgio Moretti.
The DOBCO shareholders selected CFI’s Software & IT Services group in the Benelux to serve as their lead M&A adviser in the transaction. Mr Jan Dobbenie and Mr Kristof Coucke, the founders of DOBCO, commented, “We know the people at CFI already for a long time and have benefited in this process from a strong and trusted relationship. We are extremely excited about this outcome and also about the prospects of working together with Dedalus. With this partnership and the integration into the Diagnostic Imaging IT (DIIT) business vertical of Dedalus, we have the opportunity to take the next step in our growth and to realise our ambitions with extra investments in R&D innovations, in people, in expanding geographies, and ultimately, to provide our customers with the excellent service level they are accustomed to“.
CFI initiated discussions and negotiations in a competitive and global process with strategic buyers, which ultimately resulted in a successful transaction with Dedalus on 22 October 2021.
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