Pliezhausen, November 17, 2016. IT service provider DATAGROUP has completed the conversion from a German Aktiengesellschaft to a European Company, Societas Europaea (short: SE). Ten years after its IPO, DATAGROUP AG becomes DATAGROUP SE.

“With the DATAGROUP 2020 vision and our full-service offer CORBOX we have embarked on a steep growth path”, comments DATAGROUP CEO Max H.-H. Schaber. “The conversion to a European Company is therefore the next logical step for us. For the larger our customers become the more they look out for an international appearance of their IT service provider. That is why the SE, as the leading European legal form, strengthens our competitive position and is a perfect fit for our growth targets.” With registration in the Commercial Register on November 16, the conversion became formally effective. The basis for this was a resolution of DATAGROUP’s Annual General Meeting, which unanimously agreed to the management board’s respective plan in March.

DATAGROUP will continue to focus its operating business on the German market. “According to industry association BITKOM, the German market for IT services has a size of EUR 38bn and still offers massive growth potential for us. We will be able to use it even better with the new corporate form, as it will be easier to address larger customers”, says DATAGROUP COO Dirk Peters. “Furthermore, we will attend to our customers’ international activities from Germany in the context of a follow the customer strategy as before.”

Management board and supervisory board of DATAGROUP SE will remain separated in terms of personnel. DATAGROUP SE thus continues the proven two-tier system in its leadership structure. Likewise, Pliezhausen near Stuttgart will remain the registered office.

The company also believes that the conversion will lead to a higher attractiveness of the DATAGROUP shares for institutional investors. “Already today, we have aroused considerable interest among institutional investors in the rest of Europe”, explains DATAGROUP CEO Max H.-H. Schaber. “The abbreviation ‘SE’ will contribute to an even stronger attention to our growth story on the part of institutional investors. We will further promote the internationalisation of the investor landscape in the next few years.” Since 2015, DATAGROUP has voluntarily provided all capital market-related information in English as well and has significantly intensified roadshows and participations in conferences in the rest of Europe over the past months.

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