Xait acquires leading French proposal software company

(Stavanger, Norway, and Nantes, France, 17th January 2022) Norwegian tender software specialist Xait acquires French proposal management specialist Jack in the Box as part of an international diversification drive into multiple industry sectors and geographies. Jack in the Box’s current managers will continue to head up the company in France. 

“Our XaitPorter collaboration software has proven its value for large enterprises in the energy and renewables industry and is perfectly suited for large, complex proposals within any industry. Jack in the Box has a product that fits most of the regular public and private tender processes for enterprises within multiple industries and services, and with a very strong track record in the French market. This is a highly complementary acquisition from a technological, industrial and geographical viewpoint,” says Eirik Gudmundsen, CEO of Xait.

Xait offers a complete all-in-one co-authoring software solution for teams to collaboratively create, manage and produce documents. XaitPorter, the company’s core co-authoring software, enables hundreds of people on multiple locations to work together simultaneously on for example complex tender documents. With XaitPorter, document creation is done up to 70% faster, with higher document quality and higher win rates. The company’s stronghold is in the energy and renewables industry in Europe and USA, but with growing footprint in other industries.  

Leading French player

Jack in the Box was established in 2000. Since then, the company’s proposal software – Proposal Studio – has been utilized on projects in 21 countries worldwide. It is the favored software for French companies that tender for projects in the construction & engineering, business services, finance, and energy industries. The company’s software has more than 150 clients and 7,000 users. 

Jack in the Box has offices in Nantes and Paris, France. The company employs 26 people and had annual recurring revenues (ARR) of approximately EUR 3 million in 2021, plus EUR 1 million in service and consultancy revenues. 

Fabrice Peim, General Manager of Jack in the Box

“The growth in the recent years confirms that the software fits the French market and covers a large range of efficient functionalities. Indeed, most of the Jack in the Box’s clients consider that the software fits their needs and even more,” says Fabrice Peim, General Manager of Jack in the Box. 

Eric Legrand, President of Jack in the Box. 

“Becoming part of the Xait Group will facilitate even more complete product and service offering to our customers. Additionally, Xait has a global footprint that we aim to tap into. Combining the two companies’ technology competence will also allow us to continuously develop the most efficient and easy-to-use solutions, enabling our customers to win new contracts as cost-effectively as possible,” says Eric Legrand, President of Jack in the Box. 

Rapid growth

Xait has identified a three-pronged growth strategy that consists of organic growth from both existing and new clients, plus acquisitions. 

Xait’s organic ARR grew by more than 20 percent in 2021, ending at approximately NOK 100 million before the acquisition. Xait’s group revenues were circa NOK 85 million in 2021, with a healthy profit margin. 

Frank Skavland, Chief Financial Officer of Xait

“The purchase of Jack in the Box is Xait’s third acquisition in just over twelve months. This acquisition is the largest to date and will grow Xait’s ARR with around 30 percent and increase total number of employees to almost 90. In just three years we have tripled our ARR, placing us amongst the world’s largest proposal software players,” says Frank Skavland, CFO of Xait.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction, which has been settled partly in cash and partly in shares in Xait. The current managers and shareholders of Jack in the Box, President Eric Legrand and General Manager Fabrice Peim, invest in Xait and will continue to head up Jack in the Box.

Eirik Gudmundsen, Chief Executive Officer of Xait

“To retain the specialist competence in Jack in the Box is key for us. We are therefore very pleased that key members of the Jack in the Box’s management team continue as both technical and commercial resources and shareholders in Xait. Together we aim to realize growth synergies and capitalize on the untapped potential of our technologies in order to achieve significant international growth in the coming years,” says Eirik Gudmundsen. 

For more information, please contact:
Eirik Gudmundsen, Chief Executive Officer,
Mobile: +47 971 44 836, email: eirik.gudmundsen@xait.com

Silje Stensland, Global Media Contact and Marketing and Communications Director,
Mobile: +47 922 65 803, email: silje.stensland@xait.com

Claire-Anne Lardiere, Media Contact France,
Mobile: +33 7 68 84 38 07 email: calardiere@jack.fr 

About Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box is the only Proposal Management expert in France. Proposal Management develops methods and tools to improve the drafting of commercial proposals, technical briefs, and responses to calls for tender. With 150 clients and more than 7,000 salespeople equipped, Proposal Studio has produced more than 1 million sales documents since its launch in 2001.
www.jack.fr

About Xait
Xait is a global software technology company providing enterprise customers with software for document co-authoring, automation, collaboration, and intelligent pricing.

Our cloud-based software XaitPorter is a complete all-in-one co-authoring solution enabling companies to create high-quality documents with contributions from many authors simultaneously. XaitPorter simplifies and streamlines document production, so that a company can maximize revenue from bids and proposals and other business-critical documents. 

Our second product, XaitCPQ, helps organizations win more deals at better margins, by making it really quick and really easy to correctly build and price combinations of products and services, and to do so at scale.

• Automates complex pricing
• Prevent people from making mistakes
• Applies best practice to your pricing and quoting

In a nutshell, we help our clients win business by supporting their sales enablement efforts from quote to contract.

Xait was founded in 2000.