Having recently raised nearly 20 million levs (10.2 million euro) through a capital increase on the stock exchange in Sofia, Bianor Holding is continuing its series of investments. At the end of May the company announced the acquisition of two technology firms and signaled a potential restructuring. The technology holding will acquire 100% of Sofia-based Digital Lights and 51% of Plovdiv-based Prime Holding, with an option to purchase the remaining 49% in the future. Additionally, Bianor plans to rebrand as Wiser Technology, which will serve as an umbrella of the companies in the group. Bianor's states that the combined revenue of the three companies for 2023 is 54 million levs and they will collectively have over 500 employees, making the group one of the largest players in the sector in this country.
"The new, larger organization will allow us to provide even more value to our clients and participate in more significant and strategic projects," Kostadin Yordanov, CEO of Bianor Holding, said in a press release. While no price and details were disclosed, Prime Holding's LinkedIn profile indicates that the deal is valued at 50 million euro.
Three in one
Technically, the deal does not involve a legal merger between the three companies but brings them under a common denominator. A significant part of the transactions will be carried out through Bianor Holding shares, turning the founders and key team members of Prime Holding and Digital Lights into shareholders in Wiser Technology. The companies in the group will continue operating largely independently, retaining their existing teams and structures. However, activities related to corporate development, finance, marketing and sales will be centralized in the holding company.
According to the press release, the acquisition will be completed after certain conditions are met and some of them are beyond the control of the parties. "Public disclosure of additional parameters of the deals at this moment may harm the legitimate interests of Bianor Holding and hinder the finalization of the deals," the company said, promising that the information will be disclosed at a later stage. Given the turnover of the companies, the deal must be approved by the Commission on Protection of Competition.
The companies
Prime Holding is a technology company comprising five subsidiaries. In Bulgaria, these are software developer Programista, web designer ATP and software trader SBND, which have been merging into the parent company in recent months. Additionally, it owns Prime Software, which operates in Serbia, and Primedev in Russia (Note: the latter company no longer exists).
The technology holding's capital is divided into 58,095 shares with a nominal value of one lev, with around 65% held by Noratex, a company solely owned by Rositsa Bakalova. The latest published report shows Prime Holding had consolidated sales of 32 million levs in 2022. Its largest market is the United States, which generates over 18 million levs of the turnover, followed by the Bulgarian market with 7.5 million levs. (For comparison, Bianor's consolidated revenue in 2023 reached 18 million levs.) Prime Holding employs about 130 people plus over 30 at Programista.
Digital Lights, also a software developer, is a significantly smaller company. In 2022 it had a turnover of 10.6 million levs, which was a rapid rise from 3.7 million levs in 2020 and just over 5 million levs in 2021. The company is owned by Lights Ventures, solely owned by Dimitar Dimitrov, and employs over 130 people.
Dimitar Dimitrov, CEO of Digital Lights, and Georgi Sokolov, CEO of Prime Holding, will be proposed as members of the board of directors of Wiser Technology. Kostadin Yordanov, co-founder and CEO of Bianor Holding, will remain CEO and board member of Wiser Technology, maintaining his leading role in the new structure.
Having recently raised nearly 20 million levs (10.2 million euro) through a capital increase on the stock exchange in Sofia, Bianor Holding is continuing its series of investments. At the end of May the company announced the acquisition of two technology firms and signaled a potential restructuring. The technology holding will acquire 100% of Sofia-based Digital Lights and 51% of Plovdiv-based Prime Holding, with an option to purchase the remaining 49% in the future. Additionally, Bianor plans to rebrand as Wiser Technology, which will serve as an umbrella of the companies in the group. Bianor's states that the combined revenue of the three companies for 2023 is 54 million levs and they will collectively have over 500 employees, making the group one of the largest players in the sector in this country.
"The new, larger organization will allow us to provide even more value to our clients and participate in more significant and strategic projects," Kostadin Yordanov, CEO of Bianor Holding, said in a press release. While no price and details were disclosed, Prime Holding's LinkedIn profile indicates that the deal is valued at 50 million euro.
