Osborne Clarke has advised SaaS start-up aifora on its sale to US-based Centric Software. 

Founded in 2018 in Düsseldorf, Aifora aims to connect retailers in order to counter the increasing supremacy of the leading online providers in the network. The idea was born out of the collaboration between co-founders Thomas Jesewski and David Krings – two specialists from the fields of retail consulting and data science.

In the meantime, aifora sells a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution with which retailers and brands can optimise their prices and inventories across channels and automate processes. Using artificial intelligence, the software forecasts demand per item, location and channel to enable optimal merchandising decisions. The service is financed via a subscription model. 

Most recently, Capnamic Ventures, NRW.Bank, NewForge, i.e. Instana founder Mirko Novakovic, and “Family Offices aus dem Handelsumfeld” invested EUR 7 million in aifora; a total of around EUR 10 million has flowed into the start-up in recent years. Now Centric Software, provider of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), has acquired aifora. The company plans to seamlessly integrate aifora into its existing solutions.

“Centric Software and aifora both deeply understand the needs of brands and retailers, and we highly attuned to the challenges faced by the industry,” says Jesewski. “With Centric solutions and aifora combined, brands and retailers will have access to an unprecedented suite of powerful tools to make informed decisions, leverage actionable insights and improve profitability.”

The Osborne Clarke team advising aifora under the leadership of Fabian Mimberg and Partner responsibility of Nicolas Gabrysch (both Corporate / M&A) consisted of Dr Jens Wrede (Tax), Rouven Siegemund, Maximilian Vocke, Robert Marx, Benedikt Hülsmann, Victor Robertz, Philipp Niedermeyer (all Corporate / M&A), Annabel Lehnen, Nils-Frederik Wiehmann (both Employment), Christoph Boeminghaus und Daniel Jeske (both Commercial).

Follow
Corporate communications and press contacts
If you are a journalist and would like comment or background from our legal experts, we can help. Our team will put you in touch with the best person. View a full list of our international press contacts by jurisdiction here.

Connect with one of our experts