Battery Ventures’ acquisition of Swiss company Avrios marks the second transaction, following its previous investment in Vimcar, a complementary cloud-software company. Avrios, based in Zurich, and Vimcar, based in Berlin, provide complementary software solutions for forward-thinking, European businesses managing fleets of vehicles – as well as certain professionals – to monitor their fleet operations, track vehicles, manage costs, reduce emissions and comply with local regulations. Avrios counts more than 1,000 customers – with around 120,000 vehicles and 140,000 drivers – including DB Schenker, Bayerisches Rotes Kreuz, Kyocera, Flaschenpost, and Tee Geschwendner. The company was founded in 2015 by Andreas Brenner, Roger Jäggi and Robin Guldener and is backed by a diverse set of investors such as Lakestar, Notion Capital, Swisscom and Edenred.
Battery’s goal is to eventually bring the two SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies together to create a large, pan-European player and offer better product capabilities and service to customers through product innovation and, potentially, acquisitions. The investment comes as businesses face new regulatory burdens around mobile workers and introduce electric vehicles and carpooling into their fleets, changes driven by higher fuel costs and environmental considerations, among other factors. Many smaller businesses in Europe are still relying on manual processes to manage their fleets of cars and trucks in this environment, making it increasingly difficult to operate cost-effectively.
“The combined investment highlights Battery’s continuing enthusiasm for software firms serving large as well as small- and medium-sized businesses in specific, vertical industries, including in Germany, where these Mittelstand companies essentially form the backbone of the national economy.”
Morad Elhafed, General partner, Battery
“The Battery team, including its European base in London, is incredibly knowledgeable about SaaS and has years of expertise helping businesses scale, so we look forward to working together. We’re also incredibly excited to join forces with Vimcar and, together, strengthen our position in the market.”
Francine Gervazio, CEO, Avrios
Francine Gervazio couldn´t be happier with the outcome:“Carlsquare is extremely knowledgeable about SaaS-businesses and provided valuable guidance throughout the entire process. They quickly understand the business, identify potential buyers and managed a challenging timeline. They negotiated a stellar deal and closed the transaction efficiently.”
Carlsquare acted as the exclusive financial advisor for Avrios.
