WM Press Release – Project Bourne

Whitehead Monckton’s corporate team have advised the shareholders of Affinitus Group Limited in the sale of the company’s entire issued share capital to the US-headquartered Aptean group.

Founded in 1991 and based in Kent, Affinitus designs and develops enterprise resource planning (ERP) software built to support the specific needs of the fresh produce, food service, bakery, meat, dairy, agriculture, horticulture, logistics and warehousing sectors. It acts as a long term strategic technology partner for its customers from implementation through the many years of use that follow, and delivers a complete ERP solution to manage produce operations from field to fork.

Aptean is a provider of purpose-built, industry-specific software that helps manufacturers and distributors effectively run and grow their businesses. Aptean’s products, services and unmatched expertise help businesses of all sizes with both cloud-based and on-premise deployment options. Headquartered in the US state of Georgia, Aptean has offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Whitehead Monckton’s team was led by corporate senior associate Haggai Peri who guided the sellers. Speaking of the sale, Haggai Peri said, “We are delighted to see this deal over the line. This will enable the two firms to combine their knowledge and expertise in the fresh produce and food and beverage industries and enhance their ability to better serve their customers.”

Haggai added, “Over the past few years we have successfully acted for software companies and other independently owned and managed businesses in Kent which, having developed expertise in their sector, then chose to integrate into a larger corporate setting. It was a real pleasure to work with the founder and managing director of the company Paul Hardy and his fellow directors, and this deal is the result of their hard work and dedication.”

Paul Hardy said “Haggai Peri and the team at Whitehead Monckton dealt with the challenges and complexities of the legal process with professional competence and expertise. Always responding quickly with clear and helpful advice to assist our decision making, their commitment was invaluable.” Paul added “Haggai acted always in our best interest and continually strived to progress the transaction and resolve any issues applying a commercial, detail-focused approach. All at Affinitus are delighted to now be part of Aptean and with Whitehead Monckton’s guidance have achieved all that we wanted for every stakeholder in the business.”