“Leading software company in Europe”: The Bulgarian Sirma attacks the top through the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Doubling revenues to €100 million in three years, more acquisitions, market expansion, and ultimately becoming one of the most significant software players in Europe. This is how the development plans of the Bulgarian software company "Sirma Group" sound in a nutshell. The road to the ambitious goals will pass through a strategic listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which will make the Bulgarian company only the second (after Shelly) traded on the largest stock market on the Old Continent.

Our goal is to become one of the most important European software companies," said Tsvetan Alexiev, CEO of Sirma, during a meeting with journalists.

The road to Frankfurt and the threshold of 100 million leva

For the software industry as a whole, 2024 remained in the turbulent and uncertain category, but for Sirma it turned out to be successful and this obviously paves the way to Frankfurt. In pursuit of this goal, the company has made several strategic moves, one of which is its consolidation through the merger of six of its subsidiaries into the larger holding structure. This reorganization, Tsvetan Alexiev explained, aims to streamline internal processes, remove administrative bottlenecks and serve customers more efficiently across industry verticals - financial industry, transportation and logistics, hospitality and healthcare.

Despite the challenging economic environment, Sirma reported 24% revenue growth in 2024, crossing the landmark BGN 100 million threshold for the first time.

The company also made a profit, which last year was a rarity among software companies of our scale in Europe," said Yordan Nedev, CFO.

He said this was due to both organic growth and the three strategic acquisitions during the year.

On the back of the positive results, the company announced the decision to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This step will boost confidence among international customers and partners, provide greater liquidity to the stock and open the door for future capital raising. Although they do not expect an instant jump in the share price, the company believes the listing will attract the attention of the German investment community within a year or two.

Sirma Group is expected to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in early 2026. The company will list on the EuroBridge segment, which was created in cooperation between the Bulgarian Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse. This segment allows companies to list and seek capital on both markets simultaneously. The advisor for the dual listing procedure is Expat Capital AD.

Target for 2025: More revenue and more acquisitions

Last year's acquisitions have not dulled Sirma's appetite and it continues to look for new ones. In the months so far, it has held talks with more than 10 potential companies, but without success.

It is a phenomenon that we currently have the opportunity to acquire companies, but we cannot reach suitable targets in the market," said Tsvetan Alexiev.

Otherwise, profitable companies with revenues between 5 and 20 million euros and between 100 and 300 employees working in strategic sectors for the company are sought for acquisition.

Despite the difficulties in finding suitable targets in the current market environment, the Bulgarian company remains focused on its expansion strategy. Globally, Sirma products are used in over 150 countries. In addition to its strong position in Bulgaria and the local financial sector, the company has over 20 years of presence in the USA. Its important markets include the UK and Scandinavia.

The German market is also a key market, whose potential is expected to be developed with the listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The software company's ambition is to establish its presence there and it is actively seeking opportunities to enter new markets by acquiring companies in Europe, including in South East, Central and Western Europe.

Translated with DeepL.com