The acquisition of this French start-up by oodrive takes place at a moment when indicators for electronic signatures have never been so promising (+25% annual growth projected for 2020-2024 in France and Europe ). This strategic partnership will provide a strong and unequalled alternative in the electronic signature market at both a national and pan-European level.
Paris, April 28, 2021 – oodrive, a European leader in the management of sensitive content, acquired SELL&SIGN, an all-in-one electronic signature solution based in Marseille, developed and marketed by Calinda Software. This acquisition aims to boost the development of oodrive’s suite of sharing and collaboration applications. Oodrive plans to leverage its expertise in electronic signatures to become a major European player within the next three years.
The strategic integration of SELL&SIGN: strengthening oodrive’s application offering in France and internationally
Co-founded in 2014 by Alexandre Mermod, Chief Executive Officer, and Sébastien Bassompierre, Chief Technical Officer, SELL & SIGN has made its mark on the legally binding digital signatures sector. The start-up stands out from the crowd with an innovative all-in-one easy-to-use offering which allows users to endorse their documents, while also increasing the security of transactions.
The solution will round out oodrive’s collaborative platform, which offers corporate customers the best-possible functional components, including:
- File sharing and collaboration, with oodrive_share
- Digitalization of strategic meetings, with oodrive_meeting
- Management of brand content and media, with oodrive_media
- Backups, with oodrive_save
- And, electronic signature with oodrive_sign
The expertise of SELL&SIGN already covers needs voiced by oodrive’s Major Account customers. It will allow oodrive to strengthen its position as a key player at the forefront of the electronic signatures sector in France and Europe.
The electronic signature: a major component of corporate digital transformations
In one year, the e-signature has cemented its position among the fundamental needs of organizations: no longer a “nice-to-have” extra, it has become a “must-have” which is essential for corporate performance. Its appeal reflects the prevalence of remote working, which was very rapidly adopted amid the upheavals caused by the pandemic. Remote working has not only become a tool to make life easier and enhance performance, it is necessary for ensuring business continuity. Now organizations must be able to work remotely if necessary (and if possible).
This shift in business practices has had an undeniable impact on market projections for electronic signatures: global sector growth is expected to exceed 25% per year out to 2024, generating world revenues of $3.7 billion, including $969 million in Europe. In France, this number is expected to reach €180 million by 2024, i.e. a surge in growth of 140% compared with 2020 2. Paradoxically, only 8% of French companies have switched to 100% electronic signatures, and 45% of the country’s major accounts still exclusively use paper signatures 3.
Faced with this paradigm shift, the integration of SELL&SIGN is a mark of oodrive’s ambition to become a key partner in corporate digitalization in Europe
For Stanislas de Rémur, CEO and co-founder of oodrive: “We are very happy to welcome SELL&SIGN to our Group. This acquisition and the benefits it will bring are part of oodrive’s vision of offering a collaborative, unsurpassed, and highly secure platform where digital signatures play a key role. Apart from the strategic appeal of this acquisition, which embodies our desire to create a sustainable and attractive alternative for sensitive data at a European level, it is also a reflection of our shared ideas and values. Together, we can offer innovative solutions which benefit companies and promote business in France and Europe and which are fully in line with oodrive’s strategy.“
“This partnership with oodrive will allow us to accelerate the roll-out of our smart legally-bindingelectronic signature solution to markets in Europe and worldwide. The synergies between the two groups will further strengthen the level of guarantees and the range of services we will be able to offer to organizations of all sizes. This is also the story of the coming together of two groups of entrepreneurs and the start of a wonderful adventure between teams who are passionate about technology and their impact on the daily lives of millions of users and on the environment.”declared Alexandre Mermod, CEO of Sell&Sign
About SELL&SIGN
Created in 2014 by Alexandre Mermod and Sébastien Bassompierre, the Sell&Sign electronic signature application is a French innovation invented and developed in the Vieux Port neighborhood in the heart of Marseille. SELL&SIGN offers an all-in-one electronic signature solution which includes contract digitalization and certification, data collection, and the option to sign documents in-person, remotely, and offline. The company currently employs a staff of 23 and has around 1,500 clients.
For more information visit: sellandsign.com
1 IDC, August 2020.
2 IDC, August 2020.
3 Oodrive study by OpinionWay, on the adoption of electronic signatures in companies with 500 employees or more.
