Horus Software, the Walloon accounting specialist, is selling 40 percent of its shares to a French investor. The company wants to grow faster in Flanders and Luxembourg and is aiming for a valuation of billions within five years.
Horus Software, a Walloon developer of accounting software, is bringing a French investor on board. The Tailleur family is selling 40 percent of the company to make it happen, De Tijd reports.
The sellers are Jérôme, Philippe and Benjamin Tailleur, who together own Horus. With the new capital, they want to gain a foothold more quickly outside their home market.
Growth in Flanders and Luxembourg
Horus Software is now explicitly targeting the Flemish accounting market. Luxembourg is also on the agenda, another market where the company wants to grow faster. The French investor must make this international expansion financially possible.
The approach suits a company that wants to move well beyond its home market of Wallonia. Flanders is geographically close, but for a Walloon software supplier it is a separate market with its own customers and its own habits. The Tailleurs are deliberately choosing to take this step with an external partner.
We have not been able to find out which investor it is or how much money is involved.
A billion-euro ambition
The ambitions are considerable. Horus is aiming for a valuation of more than one billion euros within five years. For a software company from the Walloon SME world, that is a hefty growth target, especially because the family is now giving up part of its shares.
With a 40 percent stake, the French investor holds a minority position. The Tailleur family therefore stays involved in the company it built itself, while bringing on board a financial partner that should help speed up growth.
What comes next
The coming years will show whether Horus can deliver on its plans in Flanders and Luxembourg. The billion-euro valuation is a five-year goal, not a result the company can show today.
Horus and the investor are not disclosing any further details about the deal for now. That also applies to the timing of the expansion in Flanders and Luxembourg.