The move to remote working during the pandemic has accelerated the transition to digital-first working, and that includes eSigning.
According to Nitro, Connective is the leading eSign SaaS provider in Belgium, with a fast-growing market share in France as well as an expanding customer base in 11 other European countries.
It also has more than 30 eID and smart card integrations across 20 countries, said to be more than any other eSign vendor.
Connective customers include the Belgian and French governments, BNP Paribas, Cofidis, ING Bank, Pirelli and Toyota.
Acquiring Connective will accelerate Nitro's eSign capabilities, including support for Advanced Electronic Signature ('AES') and Qualified Electronic Signature functionality, and the company sees opportunities for improving the Nitro Productivity Platform's existing eSign capability.
"This is a milestone moment in Nitro's growth story," said Nitro co-founder and CEO Sam Chandler.
"With the acquisition of Connective, Nitro is in prime position to become one of the top three global players in the rapidly growing enterprise eSign market, at a time where increased trust, security, and regulatory compliance are vital to business success. With data privacy and security at a premium, the future of eSigning is built around high-trust eID-driven solutions, and this acquisition positions Nitro to become a global leader in this space.
"Connective's Smart Document solution will also further bolster Nitro's offering, making document workflow automation easy, powerful and available to all. There are a multitude of opportunities to drive additional demand of the Connective offerings within Nitro's platform through our global customer and partner networks. Nicolas and his team have built a world-class company that tightly aligns with our mission of delivering best-in-breed, high value technologies with unparalleled customer service experience and we couldn't be more excited to welcome the entire Connective team to the Nitro family."
Connective CEO Nicolas Metivier said "We are delighted to have found a partner in Nitro that so closely aligns with our mission and vision, as well as our core company values. There was an immediate connection with Sam and the Nitro team, and it was clear to me how Connective's market leading solutions could scale even further as part of the Nitro Productivity Platform.
"Our market-leading eSign and eID solutions have helped us establish a formidable presence in Europe and with Nitro's customer base and global reach, we are excited to expand this presence around the world."
The combined company will have more than 13,000 customers in more than 150 countries, presenting upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
The complete Connective team of more than 60 employees is expected to join Nitro.
The transaction is to be funded by a $140 million capital raising.
