Shock Media, a leading Dutch managed hosting company, attracts Strikwerda Investments to shape its next phase of growth. This partnership will give Shock Media access to knowledge and capital. This will enable Shock Media to accelerate its strong Dutch position into a relevant European player through acquisitions at home and abroad. Hogenhouck m&a assisted shareholder Alain Götz in this transaction.
Rapid growth for Shock Media
Almelo-based Shock Media is the managed hosting specialist for business-critical websites, web shops and (web) applications and was founded in 1999 by Alain Götz. By focusing on the most demanding customers with solutions for complex hosting issues, a leading position has been built up in this niche market. With excellent support and in-depth technical knowledge, customers are optimally advised and supported in achieving their online goals.
Shock Media is de afgelopen jaren flink gegroeid en vanaf 2013 onafgebroken winnaar van de FD Gazellen Award, de jaarlijkse meting en uitreiking van het Financieele Dagblad aan de snelst groeiende bedrijven in Nederland. Met de investering van Strikwerda Investments verwacht Shock Media verder te kunnen opschalen en nieuw talent te kunnen aantrekken.
Hosting for mission-critical environments
Strikwerda Investments is a family investment company that focuses on ambitious, medium-sized and large SMEs and has a strong track-record in the ICT sector. For example, the investor is also majority shareholder in Total Webhosting Solutions (TWS) with which a market-leading position has been created within the traditional web hosting market in recent years. Although "Mass Market Webhosting" is a large market, there is more growth in specialized hosting segments, such as e-commerce hosting and hosting of mission-critical environments. Through previous investments, Strikwerda Investments is already active in this segment. Shock Media will continue to expand this specialty in the coming years and Alain Götz will participate and advise within TWS in addition to his existing role as CEO of Shock Media.
Capital and knowledge to further scale up
Alain Götz: "The collaboration creates a unique opportunity because it creates a platform with a lot of clout, capital and specific knowledge. By working together, Shock Media can further scale up while the customer-oriented culture and approach is fully preserved and will also be secured by the existing management. As a strong financial partner, Strikwerda Investments will enable us to make acquisitions in addition to our organic growth. Shock Media will thereby become the target platform for all specialized and business-critical hosting solutions within TWS. In addition to acquisitions at home and abroad, we will then become an even more attractive employer for scarce Linux talent, for example."
Maintaining team and autonomy
Abe Bakker van Strikwerda Investments: “Shock Media is een van de mooiste bedrijven van Nederland en een parel binnen de Europese hostingmarkt. De onderneming heeft de afgelopen jaren een indrukwekkende groei laten zien, dankzij haar hoge kennisniveau, klanttevredenheid en uitstekende reputatie. Wij zijn ervan overtuigd dat wij elkaar vanuit onze verschillende expertises versterken en samen nog een grote sprong kunnen maken in deze aantrekkelijke markt. De samenwerking kan in ons optiek alleen succesvol zijn als de kracht van Shock Media geborgd kan worden, onder andere door het behoud van team, cultuur en autonomie.
Our role in the partnership will therefore be to support the management team in continuing the company's business, identity and growth. We are very excited to help Shock Media and its team accelerate its growth even further in the coming years. Together we can build a leading European player from the strong Dutch base. We are therefore looking forward to a successful and pleasant cooperation in realizing the company's further growth strategy."
Never a dull moment
Hogenhouck m&a assisted entrepreneur Alain Götz in this transaction. The transaction team consisted of Rik Stikkelbroeck, Hein Stoops and Daan Zonneveld.
De ambities om ShockMedia naar het allerhoogste niveau te brengen waren al vanaf de eerste kennismaking in 2017 duidelijk aanwezig. Onderwerpen als de uitdagingen in het ondernemerschap en persoonlijke drijfveren kwamen ook regelmatig aan de orde. De groei van ShockMedia en de wensen, behoeften en ambities van ondernemer Alain leiden nu tot deze volgende stap in zijn ondernemerscarrière. Hogenhouck legde de relatie met Strikwerda en leidde het hele traject om tot deze transactie te komen.
Hein Stoops on this transaction: "When entering into a long-term relationship, it's best to reflect on the initial phase, the choices and ambitions. This now leads to a match that really energizes both parties."
