Axcel Management A/S announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LS Retail, a global developer of unified, modular software for retail, hospitality, food service, pharmacy and forecourt businesses. LS Retail is being acquired from Aptos, a US-based leader in retail technology solutions owned by funds managed by Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
Axcel is a leading private equity firm founded in the Nordics and investing across Northern Europe. They have offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Frankfurt. Axcel currently owns 24 companies across four sectors: Technology, Business Services & Industrials, Healthcare and Consumer.
With Axcel, LS Retail gets a partner with extensive experience in vertical software, partner channel sales and cloud transition, gained from investments in companies such as EG, SuperOffice and Progrits. The partnership between Axcel and LS Retail creates a community whose collective breadth and depth of experience will be leveraged to share best practices for addressing retail transformation challenges and unique industry complexities.
“LS Retail is one of the preferred software providers for retail and hospitality businesses around the world,” says Christoffer Müller, Partner at Axcel. “Its unified commerce solutions enable companies to manage their operations on one platform, from point-of-sale and customer loyalty to financials. We look forward to supporting LS Retail as it continues to grow internationally, putting our many years of experience in vertical software to work.”
LS Retail’s leadership team is headed by Kristjan Johannsson, the company’s General Manager, whose career spans more than 25 years in leadership, commercial strategy, business development, and marketing across the IT services and software applications sector. Kristjan Johannsson’s expertise and visionary approach have been instrumental in driving LS Retail’s growth.
“The past few years at LS Retail have been marked by exceptional growth and increased global recognition, both by retailers who express mounting interest in working with us, and by analyst firms such as IDC and Gartner,” says Kristjan Johannsson, General Manager of LS Retail. “We are thrilled about the partnership with Axcel, a Nordic investor with a deep understanding of the B2B technology sector, and see this as a meaningful step that will further support our ambitions of delivering bold technological innovation across the globe.”
Based in Iceland, LS Retail has offices in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America and employs approximately 300 colleagues.
About LS Retail
LS Retail is a world-leading developer and provider of unified software solutions for retail, hospitality, food service, pharmacy and forecourt businesses.
LS Retail solutions offer powerful industry-specific functionality with high composability and flexibility for retail and hospitality businesses. LS Retail software powers over 110,000+ stores, restaurants, hotels, gas stations and pharmacies across 157 countries, providing them with data visibility, reliable technology, and a global standard for the enterprise.
About Axcel
Founded in the Nordics, Axcel is a leading private equity firm investing across Northern Europe, with a focus on four sectors: Technology, Business services & Industrials, Healthcare and Consumer. With offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Frankfurt, Axcel’s team leverages 31 years of experience in building market leaders through a collaborative mindset and a structured approach to value creation. The firm has raised nine funds with committed capital of more than EUR 4.8 billion from Nordic and international investors. Axcel currently owns 24 companies and has completed 78 platform investments, over 400 add-on acquisitions and 53 exits.
For more information, visit www.axcel.com.
