NovumIP and its companies Novagraaf and PAVIS announced today that they will be joining Questel, after the IP solutions provider acquired a majority stake in the business from private equity firm, Paragon Partners.
The parties anticipate that the closing will take place in or around July 2021, after definitive approval from the relevant financial supervisory and antitrust authorities. Paragon Partners, the private equity firm that supported the launch of NovumIP, will become an investor in Questel, as a mark of its confidence in the market potential of Questel with its new additions.
PAVIS and Novagraaf joined forces to establish NovumIP in 2019 to provide clients with a wider range of IP advisory, administration and technology-led services. The collaboration was sparked by recognition of the importance placed by IP owners and their advisers on having access to a single, go-to resource for all their IP needs, including both commercially-focused legal and consulting advice, and tech-enabled IP services.
This approach complements Questel’s own vision for the IP sector. The global IP solutions provider offers an integrated platform of software and services addressing corporate and law firm needs across the complete IP lifecycle.
“We launched NovumIP with an ambitious plan to become one of the top three service providers worldwide and to offer a new global benchmark for end-to-end IP service delivery,” said Chairman Reinhard Ottway. “By joining forces with Questel, we are able to achieve that goal, forming a global IP powerhouse and the second largest IP services provider in the world.”
Moving forward, the companies’ shared vision is to further integrate knowledge and technology in order to offer clients a new way of managing their IP through tech-enabled delivery of services. The combined group will be present in more than 30 locations around the world, with a team of more than 1,200 people.
“Through the acquisitions of Brandstock and RenewalsDesk, in 2019 and 2020 respectively, Questel successfully expanded its operations into the trademark management and patent annuity markets. These new acquisitions aim to accelerate this strategy by relying on Questel’s IT DNA,” said Charles Besson, CEO at Questel.
“More than 1,400 clients already enjoy and value our premium annuity service. With Questel’s international footprint and client-base, we can now offer our services to the global IP community in one fell swoop. Especially those Questel clients which already use their Intellectual Asset Management platform will greatly benefit from the reliability and efficiency of an integrated annuity service.” said Thomas Gruber, CEO at PAVIS.
“Questel has demonstrated its unique capabilities to integrate IP services via investment in software and data, making it the ideal partner with which to consolidate our IP management offerings,” said Lutgarde Liezenberg, CEO at Novagraaf. “We’re excited to be able to move forward together, and to build on our longstanding and unparalleled heritage in the fields of IP legal and consulting, and global administrative services for the benefit of all our clients.”
Supported by the private equity funds, Eurazeo, IK Investment Partners and Raise, the acquisition marks another important step for Questel, which now serves more than 15,000 clients and has more than 1,200 employees around the world. During the past years, Questel has demonstrated a successful M&A integration track record, relying on its corporate culture, purpose-driven strategy, and a strong engagement on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues.
About NovumIP
NovumIP is an integrated, global IP provider that was formed in December 2019 as a joint venture by leading IP specialists Novagraaf and PAVIS. Drawing upon more than 380 IP specialists across 19 offices in Europe, the US, China and Japan, NovumIP combines business-focused consulting with tech-enabled services to help clients to achieve their strategic goals. Our modular ‘smart IP solutions’ extend across the complete life cycle of patent, trademark, design and associated IP rights, including legal & consulting services, online brand protection, patent annuities, EP validations and trademark renewals, as well as flexible IP management technologies and data management solutions. By combining legal expertise with highly efficient IP solutions, NovumIP informs and facilitates critical decisions that increase and protect IP value.
About Questel
Questel’s mission is to facilitate the development of innovation in an efficient, secure, and sustainable way. Questel is a true end-to-end intellectual property solutions provider to more than 15,000 clients and one million users across 30 countries. We offer a comprehensive software suite for searching, analyzing, and managing inventions and IP assets. Questel also provides services throughout the IP lifecycle, including prior art searches, patent drafting, international filing, translation, and renewals. These solutions, when combined with our IP cost management platform, deliver clients an average savings of 30-60% across the entire prosecution budget.
