Lumine Group | VAS-X Acquisition Case Study

Background

Founded in South Africa in 1999, VAS-X is a provider of modular mission-critical billing, customer management, real-time recharge, credit management, and fulfillment on-demand system solutions to converged communication services providers, mobile virtual network aggregators. VAS-X delivers full-stack BSS/OSS solutions to a global footprint of telecoms operators.

In 1999, the Founder and CEO of VAS-X, Kobus Haupt, recognized a niche in the region for service provider-driven billing needs. Initially formed “VASExperts” in South Africa, in 2000 the business won its first contract with Vodacom (a Vodafone Group) which launched the business into two decades of growth and expansion.

Today, VAS-X software allows MNO’s massive cost benefits without compromising quality and overall functionality. Their solutions are mission-critical to converged service providers, processing over 500 billion XDR’s call/IP data records.

“How can we get VAS-X to the next level? How can we take it forward?”

That was the question Kobus Haupt asked himself as he started to think about a potential acquisition and what it could offer his business. Kobus knew the business has great potential to grow, and felt an acquisition with the right network and expertise could help them get there.

“Our People are Our Priority”

Kobus spoke with a few acquirers, but only Lumine could address his number one priority with an acquisition: protecting the people. “Staff is number one. Without the staff there is no business,” said Kobus. “We have great people, and I wanted to make sure they have a future and there is a place for them with any acquisition.”

Lumine is a buy-and-hold forever acquirer, meaning once Lumine acquires a business, it will never be resold. Lumine believes in the people who helped your business get to where it is today and values the relationships founders and CEOs have developed with their teams. “Lumine Group ticked this box in a different way from other potential acquirers,” said Kobus. “We knew this was a great opportunity for the business and for our people.”

Lumine offers a range of talent development opportunities for businesses. They range from knowledge-sharing events annually and semi-annually, and more frequently, through mentorship opportunities providing networking opportunities with like-minded leaders in similar businesses across the world.

3 Reasons VAS-X Chose Lumine

Buy & Hold Forever

As a buy-and-hold forever acquirer, VAS-X felt confident that Lumine would lead and make decisions with the long-term success of the business and employees in mind.

Stability for Employees & Customers

By becoming part of Lumine and Lumine's parent company Constellation Software Inc. (TSX:CSU), VAS-X knew customers and employees would feel confident that the business would forever be in stable and reliable hands.

The Lumine Ecosystem

VAS-X saw great value by the opportunity to explore the Lumine ecosystem, which offers access to a network of like-minded leaders and global customers to drive organic growth.

Exploring New Partnerships and the Lumine Ecosystem

“At Lumine, there is the feeling that everyone is a part of wanting to help each other grow,” said Kobus. “Not only through cross-selling, but through knowledge sharing and helping each other discover ways to become stronger.”

Joining Lumine grants access to the Lumine Group Playbook, a guide to acquiring, strengthening, and growing communications and media software businesses organized into different chapters by job functions. VAS-X has its eye on the Sales Operations chapter. “There is a great opportunity to ramp up our sales operations, and we know that there are many great teams within Lumine who can help us with that,” said Kobus. “We have already looked through the Sales Operation Playbook, and even at first look we were able to identify optimizations we could implement.”

In addition to knowledge sharing, the ecosystem grants the ability for partnerships and cross-sell opportunities to over 500 customers around the world. Where it makes sense, connecting with other Lumine businesses is a powerful tool to drive organic growth and offer more value to the customer.

What’s Next for VAS-X

VAS-X is amidst the first few months after the acquisition and is working through the virtual integration process meeting with business leaders throughout Lumine. In this first phase of integration, the focus is on understanding their business model and learning more about the way their business operates. From there, together, Lumine and VAS-X can determine the right opportunities that will take the business to its next phase of growth.

To learn more about the acquisition, read the press release.

VAS-X looks towards a future of growth with Lumine Group