- Clipperton acted as sole financial advisor to Friedhelm Loh Group, the sole owner of German Edge Cloud (GEC), on the sale of its cloud & edge platform business to WIIT.
- With its market-leading solution portfolio of IaaS, PaaS, and edge infrastructure, the cloud & edge business will establish a new cloud & edge competence center within WIIT while further accelerating its pan-European growth trajectory.
- This transaction illustrates Clipperton’s strong track record in executing transactions on behalf of European infrastructure software companies with strategic acquirers – including gridscale’s recent sale to OVHcloud, Smartlook’s recent sale to Cisco, Gandi’s recent sale to Total Webhosting Solutions and Dan.com’s recent sale to GoDaddy.
- The acquisition marks a strong start into 2024 for Clipperton’s German team.
Our Client
- Founded originally as iNNOVO Cloud, GEC’s cloud & edge platform business has emerged as a leading specialized data-sovereign cloud infrastructure provider to German blue chip and mid-market corporations, as well as public sector and research focused customers.
- With its team of more than 50 cloud experts, GEC’s cloud & edge platform business has built a uniquely powerful platform to manage and run cloud infrastructures on a continuum from scalable cloud solutions to modular on-premise edge deployments.
- The business is based in Eschborn with data center infrastructure in Frankfurt and will continue to be led by its current management team.
WIIT and GEC Cloud & Edge Platform: Deal Rationale
- WIIT is a leading European digital transformation and cloud services provider, providing end-to-end enablement and infrastructure services through its 15 data centers in Germany and Italy.
- Through the integration of GEC’s cloud & edge platform business, WIIT will establish a new Pan-European competence center for cloud & edge services and rapidly accelerate growth in this segment.
- For Friedhelm Loh Group, this transaction will enable GEC to focus further on its Digital Industrial Solutions business.
- The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2024.
Clipperton’s track record in advising European cloud infrastructure champions
- Clipperton acted as sole sell-side financial advisor to Friedhelm Loh Group, the owner of German Edge Cloud, on this transaction in a holistic and competitive M&A process.
Deal Team
- Nikolas Westphal, Managing Partner
- Ingmar Wegel, Executive Director
- Christopher Kertess, Vice President
- Simon Rohrbach, Senior Analyst
- Jens Krause, Analyst
About Clipperton
Clipperton is a leading investment bank dedicated to technology and growth companies. We provide strategic and financial advisory to entrepreneurs, corporates, and top-tier investors in Europe willing to execute transactions such as strategic M&A, private equity transactions, and private placements. Founded in 2003 and with offices in Paris, Berlin, Munich, London, New York, and Beijing, Clipperton has completed over 400 M&A and private placement transactions with fast-growing technology start-ups, blue-chip corporates, and renowned financial investors.