Francisco Partners and Marlin Equity Partners complete merger of Consignor and Unifaun

Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden - Consignor and Unifaun, both leading cloud Transport Administration Systems (“TAS”) platforms, announced today that they have completed the merger of the two companies.

These two leading providers of TAS software will combine to offer shippers, carriers, and parcel recipients globally best-in-class solutions for shipping and handling of parcels. Marlin Equity Partners (“Marlin”), Unifaun’s current majority owner, has partnered with Francisco Partners, Consignor’s current majority shareholder, in the transaction to become equal shareholders in and together own a majority of the combined business.

The merger creates a prominent global provider of cloud TAS solutions, bringing together two highly complementary SaaS-based products and expanding the combined company’s ability to address a wider range of TAS capabilities, thus bringing significant benefits to the combined company’s customer base. The combined company will be able to significantly accelerate product innovation and offer the strongest TAS solution in the market, with a market leading user experience, extensive functionality, and agile implementation and customer support services. Additionally, the merger will expand the combined company’s geographic reach and, building on Consignor and Unifaun’s Scandinavian heritage, the company will be very well positioned to continue to accelerate its growth on a global basis.

“We are very excited about entering this new chapter of our companies’ history. The combination of our talented, passionate teams, as well as our local and global resources, will drive significant value to our customers, employees, and shareholders”, said Consignor Founder and CEO Peter Tang Thomsen who has become CEO of the combined business. “Together we will deliver exactly what our customers have been seeking: an integrated, full-suite of TAS solutions that will help our customers reduce shipping costs significantly while improving the overall delivery experience for constituents across the logistics value chain.”

Peter Chung, a Managing Director at Marlin, commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Francisco Partners and the Consignor team. We see Unifaun and Consignor as two highly complementary industry leaders in the TAS space and we look forward to helping the combined company reach its full potential and further accelerate its growth globally”. Mike Wilkinson, a Principal at Marlin Equity Partners, added “The combination of the two companies represents a strong strategic fit that will enable the joint teams to continue building and delivering innovative TAS solutions to our customer base globally”.

Petri Oksanen, a Partner at Francisco Partners, commented, “The combination of Consignor and Unifaun’s technology, talent and operational resources will substantially elevate the offering for customers who will benefit greatly from a broader range of functional capabilities, wider geographic coverage, and deeper domain knowledge and technical expertise. We see an incredible amount of potential in the TAS market and believe that the combined company will be better positioned to capitalize on the secular tailwinds underpinning e-commerce growth”. Mario Razzini, a Principal at Francisco Partners, added “We believe the merger of Consignor and Unifaun is a powerful combination that will allow the combined company to unlock significant value for customers and all other stakeholders involved in the exciting TAS ecosystem”.

The transaction received definitive approval by the competition authorities on February 12, 2021. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Unifaun and Marlin Equity Partners were advised by Arma Partners and EY as their financial advisors, and Plesner as legal counsel. Consignor and Francisco Partners were advised by Raymond James as their financial advisor, and Paul Hastings LLP and Aabø-Evensen & Co as legal counsel.

About Consignor

Consignor supports their customers delivery processes by making it simpler, quicker, and cost-effective to ship orders to customers and by making delivery a competitive advantage. Consignor provides TAS solutions, enabled through a wide-ranging carrier library, connecting shippers’ websites and warehouses with their customers. Employing more than 170 staff, Consignor serves its customers from offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Bucharest, and London. For more information, please visit: www.consignor.com

About Unifaun

Unifaun provides innovative and high-quality cloud TAS solutions to carriers, shippers, and parcel recipients across the European transportation ecosystem. With an extensive partner ecosystem and carrier library, Unifaun handled around 300 million shipments in the system in 2020. Unifaun has over 200 employees in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Poland. For more information, please visit: www.unifaun.com.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With more than $25 billion in assets under management, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Marlin Equity Partners

Marlin Equity Partners is a global investment firm with over $7 billion of capital under management. The firm is focused on providing corporate parents, shareholders and other stakeholders with tailored solutions that meet their business and liquidity needs. Marlin invests in businesses across multiple industries where its capital base, industry relationships and extensive network of operational resources significantly strengthen a company’s outlook and enhance value. Since its inception, Marlin, through its group of funds and related companies, has successfully completed over 170 acquisitions. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and London, UK. For more information, please visit: www.marlinequity.com.

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