SoftwareOne has set a 2 July date for the likely closure of its acquisition of slightly smaller rival Crayon.
The duo originally announced their intentions to form a 13,000-employee software licensing monster in December.
Now they have ringed “on or about” 2 July 2025 as the day two will formally become one after SoftwareOne met all closing conditions for its recommended cash offer.
That’s a tad later than the “June” timeframe specified back in March.
Having already been named as Co-CEOs of the enlarged company, SoftwareOne CEO Raphael Erb and Crayon CEO Melissa Mulholland have now been handed more specific briefs.
While Erb will oversee activities in the regions, as well as Services and Marketplace, Mulholland will boss strategy, customer platforms, GTM enablement, vendor alliances and global functions.
“Challenging start to the year”
The news comes after the duo last month unveiled mixed Q1 performances.
Mulholland admitted that Norway-based Crayon’s performance in parts of the Nordics was “disappointing”, even as gross profits rose 5% year on year.
Erb, meanwhile, acknowledged that Switzerland-based SoftwareOne’s Q1 “marked a challenging start to the year” as its revenues fell 5.7%.
Microsoft’s recent move to slash the fees available to partners on some Enterprise Agreements (viewed by analysts as a pivotal factor in the Software-Crayon union), will act as a “headwind” into Q2, Erb indicated.
Softcat CEO Graham Charlton last month told IT Channel Oxygen that different Microsoft partners have “gone through the stages of grief” when it comes to the software giant’s recent incentive changes.
“We’ve had the full range from denial to anger,” Charlton said.
“We’ve tried to move straight to acceptance.”
Erb said in SoftwareOne’s Q1 trading update that he was “thrilled” to be embarking on a new chapter with Crayon.
“Based on our combined global footprint, enhanced offering and deep partner relationships, we will be excellently positioned to capitalise on the large, fast-growing market of software, cloud, data & AI,” he stated.
SoftwareOne expects the newly issued SoftwareOne shares to be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange on or about 2 July 2025, with its first day of trading on the Euronext Oslo Børs slated for 3 July.
