Capstone Partners served as the exclusive financial adviser to Acclaro, Inc.—a leading provider of translation and localization solutions—on its merger with Jonckers, a Europe-based AI-powered language services provider (“LSP”) and portfolio company of Mayfair Equity Partners.
Founded in 2002, Acclaro offers technology-driven translation, localization, and language services solutions to global brands. Working in over 125 languages and with offices around the globe, Acclaro addresses issues like SEO and social media localization, continuous software localization, translation services, and localized multimedia production—among others—to help clients open new markets and gain a competitive edge by expertly adapting their brands and products with fast, high-quality translations. For more information, please visit Acclaro here.
The combined company (“the Group”) will provide an expanded range of AI-powered services to the Group’s diverse blue-chip and fast-growing clients including Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, Life360, Wish, and Notion. The scale of the new Group will also accelerate its organic growth in core markets and enable the pursuit of new M&A opportunities.
Jonckers’ and Acclaro’s Senior Management Teams will continue to lead the business post-merger. Silke Zschweigert will assume the role of Group CEO, and Michael Kriz will continue as CEO of Acclaro. Silke and Michael will also be supported by a deep bench of talent, including Dominic Kinnon, Jonckers’ COO, and Rachel Ferris, Acclaro’s Vice President of Operations.
Capstone was a valuable partner for our transaction. They came up to speed quickly on our business and never dropped the level of commitment and engagement throughout the entire process. Their expertise, guidance and resources were key to us reaching a successful deal. I enjoyed working with the entire team.
“From the first conversation with the Jonckers team, it was clear that we have a shared commitment to operational excellence and superb customer service,” continued Kriz. “Our complementary technologies, services and organizations fit neatly together with very little overlap. Our joint experience and focus on technology localization combine to make us one of the top providers to global software, web, and e-commerce companies… It was also clear that our cultures are aligned, with shared beliefs and values, including an absolute focus on the customer, by supporting our outstanding team and community of translators to deliver industry-leading localization services.”
Jesse Betzner, Senior Director at Capstone Partners, stated, “We are thrilled to have represented Michael Kriz and the Acclaro management team on their successful merger with Jonckers. With the backing of Mayfair Equity Partners, Jonckers is the ideal partner for Acclaro. The two companies have a shared commitment toward delivering high quality service offerings to their clients. By joining forces, they will now be able to leverage each other’s respective strengths to further bolster their stellar reputation and continue to grow together in a fast-changing environment.”
Jonckers was established in 1994 as a privately owned language services provider. In 2016, the company developed a cloud-based AI platform for continuous localization called WordsOnline, and the company maintains a curated multilingual community that can rapidly scale in size, domain knowledge, and skills to support companies who want to launch their products in global markets faster. For more information, please visit www.jonckers.com.
Mayfair Equity Partners is a dedicated technology and consumer investor, with assets under management of over £2 billion. Mayfair’s investment philosophy centers on backing people and their ideas, working with founders and management teams to help them realize their ambitions. Mayfair’s model of Active Partnership includes a senior team of dedicated functional Specialists who support portfolio companies with business process improvement initiatives that help unlock their full potential. For more information, please visit www.mayfairequity.com.
The expert investment banking professionals on Capstone Partners’ Business Services Team work with leading middle-market companies operating in the consulting sector to advise on strategic decision-making in order to maximize financial outcomes at every stage of the business lifecycle. Our firm has developed a full suite of corporate finance solutions, including M&A advisory, debt advisory, financial advisory, and equity capital financing to help privately owned businesses and private equity firms address any need, ranging from growth and financial or operational advisement to an ultimate exit transaction. To learn more about this transaction, or about the benefits of starting a relationship with our Business Services Banking Team, contact us here.
