I ran some numbers with AI on those earlier, larger acquisitions (Luxysoft, Zisson). I compared the nature of these businesses, their scale, headcount, and profitability at the time of the transaction and a couple of fiscal years prior to the deal.
In terms of revenue, Luxysoft and Zisson were a notch smaller than Ace at the time of the deal, but clearly more profitable. Zisson, in particular, had clearly been trimmed for sale in terms of profitability. The difference in headcount was striking. Out of these, Ace—which was clearly the least profitable at the time of the transaction—had relatively far more employees.
Because of this, it would be interesting to get a closer understanding of the profitability potential of the Ace deal:
In these two previous acquisitions, LeadDesk has succeeded in improving the profitability of the acquired businesses through integration and economies of scale.
@Frans-Mikael_Rostedt @Antti_Luiro In your commentary on the acquisition, you noted that ACE’s profitability can likely be turned around to be significantly better than it currently is.
What do you think makes it overly optimistic to assume that ACE’s EBITDA could rise to, say, 15–20% in 2027–2028 through integration and potential headcount and other cost synergies?