German GovTech leader MACH acquires Form-Solutions

Lübeck, 11 January 2022 – German GovTech leader MACH AG (“MACH”) today announces the expansion of its product portfolio with the acquisition of Form-Solutions GmbH (“Form-Solutions”). This acquisition is backed by leading software investor Main Capital Partners.

Form-Solutions is a leading provider for municipal digital application management solutions. Its innovative services and strong track record in the digitisation of application processes provide an essential building block for the implementation of the Online Access Act (“Onlinezugangsgesetz”) in Germany today.

After joining forces with DATA-PLAN GmbH in February 2021, backed by Main, MACH is now expanding its service portfolio offering and market presence with the Form-Solutions partnership, a development that will benefit many areas of its administrative processes. Together, these three companies will form the newly established mach group (“machgruppe”) going forward.

Form-Solutions was founded by Matthias Eisenblätter and is headquartered in Karlsruhe. It has ~50 employees and has been enabling and supporting public administrations in the digitisation of their application processes since 2000. Today Form-Solutions offers up to 5,000 state-specific and nationwide web forms for a vast array of administrative processes. Its application management platform is used most commonly by municipalities but also in state owned companies, public utilities as well as related industries such as education.

Leif-Birger Hundt, Member of the Management Board of MACH, sees great potential in this working partnership. Hundt commented: “Form-Solutions is already established as the market leader for the digitisation of application processes in the German e-government market. I am very pleased that, with the support of Main Capital Partners, we are able to bring Form-Solutions into the mach group.”

Enabling OZG implementation success
For the implementation of the Online Access Act in Germany, administrations must digitise thousands of applications so that citizens can apply for and use essential services online moving forward. With the help and capability of Form-Solutions, the mach group is able to meet the specific requirements for the implementation of the Online Access Act in a much more efficient and effective manner.

“Within the mach group, we will now combine first-class expertise in application management with decades of ERP and e-file knowledge in the public sector. This allows us to expand and improve our product and service offering for public administrations. At the same time, we also offer our customers improved performance, reliability and future security,” adds Stefan Mensching, Member of the Management Board of MACH AG.

“MACH is an e-government specialist that has been established for more than 35 years and supports public administrations with its own extensive ERP software, as well as providing consulting and operations for digitisation processes,” explains Matthias Eisenblätter, founder of Form-Solutions. Eisenblätter added: “In future, our customer base will receive a broad range of established financial, e-file and personnel solutions through the mach group umbrella. Administrations across Germany benefit from our vast experience in the digitisation of application management processes.” Form-Solutions will remain an independent entity within the group with Matthias Eisenblätter continuing in his role as Chairman.

The mach group – an ecosystem of digitisation
The ultimate goal is to build and develop a strong group of companies that deliver real added value to public administrations as an ecosystem of digitisation partners. The leadership of the group is united in their mission to digitise and streamline public administration processes. “We want to combine the capability and experience of these companies within the MACH Group in order to offer public institutions suitable, modern and high-performance solutions from a single source,” explains Sven van Berge Henegouwen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MACH AG and Head of DACH-activities at Main Capital Partners.

About the mach group
The mach group (“machgruppe”) forms an association of administrative modernisers in Germany with the common goal of digitalising and streamlining processes in public administration. MACH AG forms the core of the growing group of companies. The mach group also includes DATA-PLAN Computer Consulting GmbH and Form-Solutions GmbH. Under the umbrella of the mach group, the e-government specialists bundle their expertise and experience in order to fully meet the requirements of the public sector at every level as market leaders – from the municipality to the federal government, from non-governmental organisations to churches and welfare organisations, as well as in teaching and research. This is not an end in itself, because efficient administration makes everyday life easier for all people and businesses.

Form-Solutions GmbH
Form-Solutions has been the digitisation partner of German public authorities in the establishment of online services for more than 20 years. More than 2,000 customers thus provide the “front ends” of their application procedures in a user-friendly way via the internet. In the process, fully reusable administrative services are created via the specially developed form editor and the open interface architecture.

MACH AG
Digitisation of paper files, more transparency in the budget planning or modern HR processes – MACH AG has been supporting public administrations with digitisation projects since 1985. The company has around 400 employees at six locations. MACH lives up to the claim of thinking digitally and acting humanely. With deep sector knowledge and its own software, MACH sustainably strengthens their customers – and thus Germany. Today, more than 100,000 users in federal and state authorities, municipalities, church administrations, educational and research institutions and non-governmental organisations rely on MACH’s solutions and holistic approach.

Main Capital Partners
Main Capital Partners is a leading software investor in the Benelux, DACH and the Nordics. Main has almost 20 years of experience in strengthening software companies and works closely together with management teams of its portfolio companies as a strategic partner, in order to realise sustainable growth and build excellent software groups. Main counts over 45 employees and has offices in The Hague, Stockholm and Düsseldorf. As of October 2021, Main has over EUR2.2 billion of assets under management. Main has invested in more than 120 software companies to date. These companies have created jobs for approximately 4,000 employees.