UK software company BuildOnline has merged with its US counterpart Citadon to create CTSpace. Howard Koenig, chairman of the new business, expects high-growth opportunities given the company now has a presence in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.
UK software company BuildOnline has merged with its US counterpart Citadon to create CTSpace. Howard Koenig, chairman of the new business, expects high-growth opportunities given the company now has a presence in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.
Koenig acknowledges initial ‘redundant costs’ will hit as the company, which has 130 employees, seeks to reduce duplication in areas like customer service and technology.
He explains: ‘BuildOnline was trying to create a sales organisation in the US. It no longer has to do that. We were trying to create a sales organisation in Europe and we don’t have to do that because they have one.’
The deal was completed after nearly eight months of negotiations. Koenig notes that combined revenue for Year-End June 2006 was approximately £8 million. CTSpace has offices in Austria, Dubai, France, Germany, the UK and US.
Once the duplication between the two businesses has been removed, Koenig believes the organisations will ‘balance out very nicely’. He expects that CTSpace will mutually break even for Year-End 2007 and start generating profit thereafter. ‘We’re actually hiring at the moment,’ he observes.
CTSpace specialises in online business process and document management, allowing companies to automate communications between departments, offices, companies and countries.
Clients include Balfour Beatty Construction, BNP Paribas and IKEA. Koenig, who was formerly Citadon’s CEO, notes that a decisive factor in the merger was the geographical overlap. ‘It is perfect for the two companies,’ he claims.
Aside from Koenig, the new company’s management team will consist of representatives from both BuildOnline and Citadon. Mark Suster, formerly CEO of BuildOnline, will be on the board of directors.
CTSpace’s headquarters is in San Francisco, California.
