Softline may acquire the manufacturer of cash register equipment Atol
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Kommersant learned that Softline intends to acquire 100% of the cash register equipment manufacturer Atol from its shareholders Alexey and Irina Makarov. Market sources estimate the possible transaction amount at RUB 5 billion. Thus, Softline continues its strategy of acquiring assets in different segments. Experts suggest that the new deal will allow the company to expand its customer base in retail, as well as strengthen its position in sales of not only software, but also hardware.
According to Kommersant’s interlocutor at a large Russian computer equipment manufacturer, Softline is negotiating the purchase of 100% of the manufacturer’s equipment for trade automation (online cash registers, POS terminals, barcode scanners, label printers, etc.) “Atol.” Negotiations are in the final stage, a Kommersant source claims, and he estimates the transaction amount at 5 billion rubles.
The top manager of the equipment distributor and the interlocutor at the electronics manufacturer know about the negotiations between the parties, but the latter insists that Softline will only buy a share. The owners of Atol were in negotiations involving the sale of the asset with a number of companies, say a top manager of one of the large banks and Kommersant’s interlocutor in the software market. Softline and Atol declined to comment. Irina Makarova (owns 50% in Atol Management Company LLC) told Kommersant that she is not ready to discuss rumors.
According to SPARK-Interfax, LLC “UK Atol” owned on a parity basis by Alexey and Irina Makarov (50% each). LLC is 100% owned by Atol LLC, Atol Online LLC, Atol Sigma LLC, Treasurer LLC and Development and Research Center LLC. The most profitable of them is Atol LLC – at the end of 2022 (more recent data has not been published), its revenue amounted to 3.9 billion rubles. (decrease by 18% year-on-year), net profit – 26 million rubles. (versus RUB 550.8 million in 2021). According to its own data, at the end of last year the group occupied 38% of the cash register equipment market and 52% of the market of autonomous cash registers and fiscal registrars.
In 2023, Softline has already completed a number of transactions to purchase IT assets in different segments, including 50.1% of Borals (enterprise software) and Bell Integrator (develops custom software). The amount of the last transaction amounted to 5.87 billion rubles, TASS reported, citing Softline reporting. In January of this year, the group announced the purchase by its subsidiary Sky Technologies of the manufacturer of POS terminals Inversum.
According to SPARK-Interfax, the largest shareholder “Softline” — Atalaya LLC (76.35%), which since April 2023 belongs to the closed mutual fund Tethys Capital. Before this, the company was controlled by the founder Igor Borovikov, but now no connection with him can be traced through open sources. In 2022, Softline received 35.6 billion rubles. revenue and 187 million rubles. net profit. Before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the group was one of the largest software distributors in the Russian Federation, and in the fall of 2021 it held an IPO in Moscow and London. But in 2022, the business was divided into Russian and international. In the fall of 2023, the IPO of the already separate Russian Softline took place on the Moscow Exchange.
The cash register equipment market has long been formed – about 80% is occupied by four players (Atol, Shtrikh-M, Evotor and Incotex), says Evotor commercial director Alexander Myshkin: “In new registrations, customers are mainly make a choice based on the feedback and experience of entrepreneurs. Of course, large retail regularly replaces equipment: due to high load, obsolescence of equipment, increasing complexity of business processes, and new projects. But the commitment to already established suppliers still prevails.”
According to the creator of the Strigo Capital venture fund, Dmitry Komissarov, 3–5 billion rubles is a “fair price” for Atol, since this company remains one of the market leaders: “Softline is trying to become a wide-profile player and is constantly expanding its sphere its activities, including through the purchase of other enterprises.”
Director for Business Development in Retail and FMCG at Croc, Dmitry Smirnov, believes that the deal will allow Softline to expand its customer base in the retail segment: “In addition, Softline has traditionally focused on software distribution. The purchase of Atol will significantly strengthen its position in the hardware sales segment. “Atol is one of the leading manufacturers of cash register equipment in the Russian Federation, and with it Softline will be able to become a comprehensive supplier of IT solutions for retail.”
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