ERP and e-commerce solutions provider Acceo has announced its acquisition of Toronto-based Multipost, its first of four acquisitions that the company said may take place by the end of the year.
Gilles Létourneau, president and CEO of Acceo Solutions said that two more are to be finalized around the end of the month, and a fourth large acquisition, around 60 million dollars in value, is in the works for the end of the year.
“We want to draw up in the retail sector for sure,” Létourneau told CDN. He said that the Montreal-based company, which ranked 17th on CDN’s Top 100 Solution Providers list for 2014, has a large client base in mid-sized hardware stores, is looking to expand in areas of retail, municipal solutions, and construction.
With the acquisition, Acceo has expanded its portfolio to include POS technology as well as ERP solutions for stores that were too small or lacked the complexity to make use of Acceo’s own solutions.
While Létourneau insisted that his company’s offerings can integrate with ERP or POS solutions from other companies and would partner with others if a client so chooses, the acquired technology will make Acceo more self-sufficient.
“Multipost is linked with small ERP for SMBs,” said Létourneau said. “They will complement for sure what we don’t have today.”
Another area that Acceo wants to expand into is an area known as “fast retail,” which Létourneau said included drug stores, groceries and more, for which the company is looking at making acquisitions later down the road. For now, it’s focused on integrating Multipost, whose company name may be absorbed, but whose solution branding, including its Smart Vendor offering, will be preserved.
Létourneau said he also needs to divide his attention between the two upcoming acquisitions, one in retail and the other in municipality that have been in the works for as long as 20 months.
He added that finding suitable companies, which for Acceo means those in the aforementioned verticals that also have above $3 million in revenue is a difficult proposition.
“Sometimes you buy a company a year or two after initial discussions,” Létourneau said. “That’s one of the realities. Prices of companies in the market are so high, we need to make sure we don’t overpay.”