Interstellar, new IT group and participation of Quadrum Investment Fund III, sees the light of day
02-02-2021
With the launch of Interstellar Interstellar on 1 February 2021, the Netherlands can boast a new IT group. Interstellar is a joining of forces of six autonomous IT companies, each with its own quality, specialisation and identity. The basis for this participation by Quadrum Investment Fund III was laid by Quadrum Capital in 2017 with its participation in cloud expert Fundaments.
Managing Partner at Quadrum Capital, Arjan Hoop: “Since then, we have developed a strong portfolio in the IT domain. The launch of this new group is a fantastic crowning achievement. With its combination of generalists and specialists, the group has everything it needs to support customers on their digital journey at the very highest level. The independence of the companies within the group also guarantees a strong entrepreneurial DNA. In combination with their new combined strength, the Interstellar companies are able to successfully realise their ambition to grow into the most relevant IT service provider in the Netherlands.”
Read the press release regarding the launch of Interstellar below.
PRESS RELEASE
__New IT group Interstellar a major player on the Dutch market with immediate effect __
Almelo, 2 February 2021 - Six successful companies from the IT sector are joining forces under the banner of IT group Interstellar from the beginning of February. This immediately creates a new large IT service provider with national coverage in the Netherlands. Interstellar accounts for more than 400 employees and an expected turnover of 100+ million euros.
Interstellar comprises a collection of IT service providers Solimas, Exite ICT and CSN Groep and specialists in the field of cloud and security Fundaments, DataExpert and Pinewood. All companies are autonomous enterprises with their own quality, specialisation and identity. Together they form one strong collection. The exchange of knowledge and expertise is multidisciplinary or just tied to one theme, such as cloud and security.
“Our ambition is to become the most relevant IT service provider in the Netherlands. We are making a difference by taking on this challenge collectively while maintaining the unique identity and entrepreneurship of the member companies”, says Maarten van Montfoort, CEO of Interstellar and founder of one of the companies within the collection. “The digital journey of customers requires constant quality, security, innovation and adoption. With Interstellar, we have everything we need to support customers at the very highest level at every stage.”
The result of a portfolio of solid IT companies Interstellar was created from the portfolio of investment firm Quadrum Capital. Quadrum Capital laid the foundation for its existing collection of IT investments in 2017 with its investment in Fundaments. After this, two years were spent working towards the launch with the ambition of becoming the most relevant IT service provider in the Netherlands. Arjan Hoop, Managing Partner at Quadrum Capital: “By pooling resources, and partly on the basis of our fund Quadrum Investment Fund III, which was established in 2020, the Interstellar companies have the clout to grow together into a formidable player in the Dutch IT sector.”
The entrepreneurs participate in Interstellar and all remain directors within their own companies. Interstellar is led by a group management team with three members, each from the companies within the Interstellar collection. In addition to CEO Maarten van Montfoort (founder of Solimas), this team includes CTO David Schaap (former CTO of CSN Group and later a driving force in the formation of Interstellar as an IT industry specialist at Quadrum Capital) and CFO Remy Cuny (from Exite ICT with a long track record in buy-and-build in the High Tech domain).
Growth ambitions Interstellar has an ambitious buy-and-build strategy and expects to add more new IT companies to its collection in 2021. Van Montfoort: “This is a special start to a fantastic journey. To maintain our edge, we are decisively investing in new areas of expertise, attracting new talent and increasing our nationwide coverage in the coming period. We would like to get in touch with enthusiastic entrepreneurs who will strengthen our collection and want to grow with us into the most relevant IT service provider in the Netherlands.”
END OF PRESS RELEASE
About Interstellar Interstellar is a collection of generalist and specialist IT companies. All companies are autonomous enterprises with their own quality, specialisation and identity. Together they form a strong collection for the multidisciplinary task that is the digital journey of small and medium-sized businesses nowadays. The group comprises generalist IT service providers (Solimas, Exite ICT and CSN Groep) as well as specialists in the field of cloud and security (Fundaments, DataExpert and Pinewood). Interstellar represents a total of more than 400 employees and an expected turnover of 100+ million euros. www.thisisinterstellar.com
