eSoftThings is a young, innovative company with 50 employees, which has achieved 50% annual growth for the last three years and boasts an impressive client portfolio. It is now an international benchmark in the design and industrialisation (hardware, software and cloud) and in the field of AI (computer vision, object classification, behaviour prediction).

A strategic deal for the technological equipment manufacturer, LACROIX Group

As the industrial IoT enters a new phase of maturity and calls for critical masses able to meet the latest technological challenges, the arrival of this new entity within LACROIX Group consolidates its ability to keep fully abreast of technologies and offer its customers increasingly 'smart' equipment.

In the era of onboard AI, data processing and information retrieval, eSoftThings fits well with the strategic plan launched by the Group in 2016. With its solid experience in hardware and software design, its know-how in the development and integration of onboard software, alongside specialties in connectivity, energy consumption optimisation and AI, this new subsidiary will be central to the Group’s R&D roadmap.

Having attained profitability within its first year, eSoftThings proved the value of its abilities at an early stage and rapidly expanded internationally, including in the United States and Asia. In the financial year 2019, eSoftThings recorded turnover of €4.5m, with operating margins of double digits.

Kimmo Vuorinen, President of eSoftThings observed: “For us, joining the teams at LACROIX Group is an opportunity to contribute to a great ambition, which we share, and to collaborate with teams whose expertise is matched by their enthusiasm.”

Jean-Marie Rolland, CEO of eSoftThings, “In addition, the very clear strategy of the LACROIX Group, in which we fit perfectly, will certainly be a catalyst for us.”

Underlining its position as global leader in the Industrial IoT

Vincent Bedouin, CEO of LACROIX Group explained: “This new acquisition, the sixth in four years, concludes the program of external growth under our Ambition 2020 plan, and sets us on the strategic path towards our forthcoming 2025 plan. The projects already underway and the connection between the teams herald a bright future. I am delighted that our unique global positioning and the complementarity of our activities now give us the benefit of critical mass, as well as commercial, industrial and financial synergies. With eSoftThings, we are reinforcing our technological synergies, a major asset for the future.”

Emmanuel Dampoux, Associate Director of In Extenso Finance & Transmission : "eSoftThings, an expert in connected objects and artificial intelligence, is one of France's up and coming technological companies. Profitable and fast-growing, with a strong international footprint, esoftThings joins an ambitious group, in order to enable it to benefit from commercial, industrial and financial synergies. The motivation of the LACROIX Group teams, the quality of their project and their professionalism made the difference for this operation."

The In Extenso Finance & Transmission teams, specialists in advising managers and companies in their equity financing operations, supported eSoftThings in its acquisition by LACROIX Group.

"The In Extenso Finance & Transmission team, through their approach and know-how, has demonstrated a real understanding of our expectations. They demonstrated professionalism, rigor and great agility, both in the strategic reflection phases to identify the right partner and in the negotiation and closing phases. Their understanding of our business model, knowledge of the tech sector, in the fields of IoT and AI, was a real added value for the project. We appreciated their commitment, mobilisation and enthusiasm, even during the challenging period of confinement," said Kimmo Vuorinen, President of eSoftThings.