Comparex name to vanish in all markets

Rebranding to SoftwareONE comes two months after acquisition completed

The Comparex name will be erased globally as part of its merger with software licensing rival SoftwareONE.

SoftwareONE today announced that the Leipzig-based firm, which it acquired last October, will rebrand across 35 entities and begin operating under the SoftwareONE name.

Switzerland-based SoftwareONE claims that the rebrand is part of an "ongoing integration process" following the closure of the acquisition on 1 February.

"In a complex business environment we strive to make things simple for our customers. Simplicity starts with one name," said Dieter Schlosser, CEO of SoftwareONE.

"By presenting all our entities within the group under a single name in the nearly 90 countries we operate in, we highlight our truly global scale while offering local support as a solutions and services provider: our people are where it matters most - by our customers' sides."

SoftwareONE's UK MD Zak Virdi first revealed in October that the Comparex name would be dropped as part of the acquisition.

The mega-merger creates a software licensing and managed services colossus with 5,500 employees across 200 locations managing €10bn in software sales.

Just months later after the deal was announced, SoftwareONE announced Dieter Schlosser as its new CEO following the tragic and untimely death of former leader Patrick Winter last summer.

Speaking after the acquisition closed, SoftwareONE's chairman, Daniel Stockar, said the merger would create "unprecedented opportunities" and even hinted that more M&A could be on the cards for the licensing behemoth.

But Rune Syversen, CEO of SoftwareONE rival Crayon, told CRN sister publication CPI that he expects the two firms will be tangled in integration efforts for the next three to five years.

"For us, them acquiring Comparex is one of the biggest opportunities we've seen over the past five years," he said.