Graphisoft Spins Off Constructor to a New Company

A new company based in the United States will assume control of the software and services provided heretofore by Graphisoft's Constructor division.

The company as yet to be given a formal name, is backed by Borealis Ventures, venture capital firm. Mark Sawyer, formerly a VP at Graphisoft and most recently the CEO of @Last software (the creators of SketchUp) serves as this group's Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

Until then, the Construction Division remains part of Graphisoft and will be continuing to drive business and support customers. The spin out will be headquartered in the United States with subsidiaries in Finland, UK and Hungary. Graphisoft will have a minority interest in the new company and will share in the future upside potential of the business.

The reason that Graphisoft has taken this action is “time horizon” according to Dominic Gallello, CEO of Graphisoft.

“We have proven that the market is real and that we can win. The only challenge is the time that it will take for Virtual Construction to go mainstream in large construction companies on a global basis. This will take several more years. We believe that the financing of the losses required until the market moves more to the mainstream would be best be done outside of Graphisoft.

Financiers who make a business of funding such opportunities were eager to provide additional funding for this effort. Further, the Construction Management teams’ belief in the business was so strong, they were happy to participate in the Management Buy Out.”

There will be no change in the Construction Division’s strategy and Graphisoft and the new company will work closely together in the future. ArchiCAD will continue to serve as the foundation for the new company’s construction offering.

Details about the product suite can be found here.

Nemetschek to Acquire Graphisoft

without embellishment or emphasis from me:

Budapest, 2006 December 21st

Nemetschek AG was granted a call option by Graphisoft’s major shareholders

Major shareholders of Graphisoft SE, holding the majority of the issued shares of Graphisoft SE, and Gerhard Weiss, CEO of Nemetschek AG signed today a call option enabling Nemetschek AG to acquire the majority of Graphisoft SE on an acquisition price of €9/share.

Following the expected exercise of the call option, Nemetschek AG will have majority control of Graphisoft SE and, in line with the effective regulations of the Budapest Stock Exchange, it will make a public tender offer for all shares of Graphisoft SE at €9/share.

“This is a very important strategic financial acquisition and we believe this will substantially increase our shareholder value”, said Mr. Gerhard Weiss, CEO of Nemetschek AG. “It is our intention that Graphisoft will retain its own identity and continue its strong corporate culture and distributor network which is driving its success.”

“There is a consolidation in the software industry and joining the forces of the two leading European AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) software vendors will solidify our global position in the worldwide market. We believe, that this move will serve the interests of our shareholders, customers, partners and employees as well.” said Gabor Bojar, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Graphisoft SE.