BravoSolution Completes Acquisition of Verticalnet |
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BravoSolution
4th Floor, 12-14 Masons Avenue,
London, EC2V 5B United Kingdom

Press release date: January 28, 2008
LONDON, January 28
Combination Yields a US$60m Supply Management Solutions Leader With Balanced Strength in US and Europe
BravoSolution, a leading provider of global supply management solutions today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Verticalnet, Inc, one of the premier vendors of full-suite supply management software solutions in the marketplace today. Verticalnet, Inc will henceforth be known as BravoSolution US. This acquisition caps several years of record revenue growth and profitability for BravoSolution, who has quickly established a leadership position in supporting all manner of supply management organisations since entering the marketplace in 2001.
"The entire BravoSolution team is excited to welcome Verticalnet to our organisation," said Federico Vitaletti, CEO of BravoSolution. "The new BravoSolution US brings an important set of customers, functionality, and talented team members to our organisation. Our expanded global capabilities leave us well positioned to lead the marketplace in our ability to deliver comprehensive supply management solutions to the multinational organisation."
"In the UK we're looking forward to offering a strengthened suite of solutions delivered by an extended team of service delivery professionals," added Nader Sabbaghian, Managing Director of BravoSolution UK. "The combined organisation represents a major force in the UK supply management solutions marketplace with a proven track record of delivering tangible value to clients in the private and public sectors. As a worldwide leader among supply management providers, we can continue to offer our customers the solutions and structure they need in a successful partner."
The new organisation will deliver:
o Comprehensive Solutions to support the full supply management lifecycle.
o Global corporate support to deliver financial peace-of-mind and local resources to even our largest multinational customers.
o A commitment to driving customer results through targeted use of support and solutions to maximize solution value.
A Reputation for Solution Leadership:
Both BravoSolution and Verticalnet were built on a foundation of sustained supply management excellence and have focused on delivering real value to customers. Three key solution themes shared across the new BravoSolution include: a recognition that product excellence combined with strong services delivery is the best offering for supporting customers value objective; a strong belief that a supply management offering must go beyond a focus on savings to address compliance, process efficiency, and risk mitigation; and perspective that sourcing complex categories require approaches that go beyond a one-size-fits-all generic software approach.
Profitable Growth and Strong Financial Backing:
BravoSolution has registered impressive organic revenue growth for its entire six-year history. Profitable since 2004, BravoSolution has averaged 55% annual turnover growth since inception, and brings a culture of aggressive growth to its new BravoSolution US operations. In addition to impressive independent growth, BravoSolution enjoys the strong financial backing of its parent company, Italcementi, the world's fifth largest cement company, representing more than US$6B in revenue annually. This backing, combined with annual reporting of BravoSolution financials through the Italcementi business provides a combination of financial strength and visibility not seen in other supply management vendors, either public or private.
Continuity for Customers and Prospective Customers:
It is BravoSolution's intention to support and continue to invest in both its ESoP platform and the former Verticalnet's XE Supply Management suite given the unique capabilities of each platform for the markets served. In addition, the former Verticalnet teams who have worked closely with customers are expected to remain largely intact across consulting, sales, and customer support. BravoSolution's goal is to grow the US, and to leverage and expand the US organisation to achieve this objective. While former Verticalnet customers will see continuity in the short term, they can also look to expand their reliance on the global support offered by BravoSolution's 350 employees in Europe, the US, and Asia.
Global Reach, Local Support:
With the completion of the acquisition of Verticalnet, BravoSolution offers 11 offices worldwide, providing local, feet-on-the ground resources where our clients need them most. Having built the business with a philosophy of local resources serving local markets, BravoSolution offers one of the largest sourcing consultancies in Europe with full organisations operating in Italy, France, Spain, and the UK. With the new addition of the US as well as China, BravoSolution is uniquely capable of serving global clients with teams staffed locally by country nationals to support local sourcing teams.
Key highlights about BravoSolution include:
o The combined organisation is now one of a small group of major full-suite supply management vendors offering full lifecycle supply management support combined with a strong balance sheet.
o A client portfolio comprised of over 350 leading organisations in 18 countries.
o Over 350 professionals in 11 Offices (Chicago, London, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome, Shanghai, Washington, DC)
o 250 active eSourcing platforms delivered through our on-demand (SaaS) model.
o Over US$60M combined 2007 turnover.
o A profitable organisation averaging organic growth of 55% for the past eight years.
o An enhanced ability to pursue opportunities with multinational organisations requiring global support capabilities.
About BravoSolution
BravoSolution is a leading international provider of eSourcing solutions. Its mission is to generate value by supporting its clients in the improvement of procurement processes through innovative web-based technologies and services. Founded in June 2000 by the Italcementi Group, BravoSolution effectively combines professional expertise and technological excellence in the area of sourcing in order to deliver valuable results to its numerous customers worldwide. BravoSolution has offices in London Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome and Shanghai. In the United Kingdom, BravoSolution is the sole approved provider of eSourcing Services under the Framework Agreement managed by an Executive Agency of the UK Treasury (OGC). BravoSolution has a team of more than 250 professionals and has now managed over 70,000 online negotiations, totalling over US$50 billion of spend.
About BravoSolution US
BravoSolution US, formerly Verticalnet, has been a leading provider of supply management solutions for over a decade. Going beyond traditional spend management and sourcing approaches, Verticalnet's solutions provide the visibility, insight and control required to identify, realize and sustain value from supply management initiatives. BravoSolution US has worked with numerous Global 2000 companies to develop industry-leading spend management and sourcing programs that leverage a tailored blend of leading software, comprehensive services, and deep domain expertise.
http://www.bravosolutionus.com
Source: BravoSolution
Press office: Tel +44-(0)20-7796-4170: Jenny McNeill j.mcneill@bravosolution.com
or Elizabeth Flynn e.flynn@bravosolution.com
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