A record year for M&A
2024 was a highly productive year for M&A at Volaris Group as our portfolios continued to actively acquire vertical market software companies all over the world. In total, Volaris closed more than 40 acquisitions during the year, breaking our record from the year before. A selection of press releases announcing our acquisitions can be found in the Volaris Group Press Room.
In 2024, Volaris Group’s M&A accomplishments included:
- Completing more than 40 new acquisitions
- Acquiring across 21 vertical markets, building on our knowledge of existing sectors where we have previously established a presence
- Acquiring globally in 16 countries across 4 regions, showing particular strength and momentum in Europe this year. We also expanded in the North American, Latin American, and Asia-Pacific regions.
Leadership development remains a top business priority
During the year, we offered many learning opportunities for our leaders to ensure that we are always striving to be the best and brightest. Some highlights this year were:
- Our multi-day Volaris 101 learning sessions were offered six times in 2024, including in Miami, Florida in March. One group that benefited from the sessions was the senior leadership team at Quarzo, who traveled to the event from Costa Rica. Quarzo’s General Manager, Mirela Verrelli, took several ideas back to her day-to-day operations. “My big task when I return to the business is to implement these lessons into our decision flow,” she shared. Read more about their experience.
- The second edition of our Volaris Executive Growth Academy (VEGA) for top-performing leaders was offered in June, in partnership with the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. VEGA’s tailored curriculum delivers innovative exercises for leadership development and unique approaches to evaluating business performance. Each session was filled with ideas and frameworks that leaders can apply to their current and future challenges. The week also stimulated conversations about how Volaris Group can further support the businesses under our stewardship. Read more about the program.
- In October, Volaris Group hosted Quadrants, our largest leadership development program. Held in Cancun, Mexico this year, the theme was “Learning Through Connection” and the week’s events highlighted inspiring career journeys, practical advice during intimate breakout sessions, a competition with cash prizes for three winning teams, and a discussion about diversity in leadership. The conference also made room for portfolios to plan their own programming while offering a chance to unwind for everyone involved. To learn more about the conference, read the photo-enhanced summary or watch the highlights video.
Staying resilient in the face of AI disruption
As a large collective of technology companies, Volaris Group understands that artificial intelligence isn’t just a trendy buzzword – it could potentially disrupt how software companies operate. In addition to encouraging ongoing discussions of AI in our cross-company virtual forums, we also organized AI-specific events over the year.
- To kick off 2024, Volaris Group held its first-ever AI Summit, a weeklong virtual conference that pooled together insights from across our vast global network. More than 1,700 AI-curious members of the Volaris community enrolled in sessions where they shared cutting-edge insights, heard about practical use cases, and took in technical demonstrations. Event organizers ran concurrent sessions in several streams that covered different applications of AI and machine learning. Read more about the event.
- We followed the AI Summit with our first-ever AI Innovation Challenge at Quadrants. The competition challenged our leaders to seize opportunities and manage risks amid a rapidly changing environment for technology. More than 100 teams participated, vying to win cash prizes and recognition from peers and judges. However, many of them found that participating in the challenge was enough to produce rewards for the business. Learn about the event in our video summary.
Notable large acquisitions in 2024
In 2024, several Volaris Group portfolios demonstrated expertise in closing large acquisitions.
- In February, Vencora finalized the acquisition of CREALOGIX, a leading Swiss technology firm with a proven track record of providing quality digital banking solutions to its customers. In addition to becoming part of Vencora’s growing portfolio of financial services businesses, the transaction showcased the expertise that we have developed within the Volaris Group network in acquiring public companies and taking them private, as we have previously shown with the acquisition of AdaptIT in 2022. At the time the deal was announced, Vencora’s Ateet Patel said: “The acquisition of CREALOGIX demonstrates Vencora’s strengthening position within the banking industry and positions us for further growth in the European region.”
- In May, Modaxo announced the successful acquisition of the Curbside Management and Public Safety businesses from Conduent. The acquisition expanded Modaxo’s offering in the Traffic Management sector and marks the launch of two new business brands: Elovate and Trellint. “With Elovate and Trellint, we are creating two powerful new brands to address critical needs in the parking and traffic enforcement landscape,” said Rod Jones, Head of Americas and Australia/New Zealand with Modaxo. “We invest in companies and people for the long term, and are thrilled to welcome new clients and team members to Modaxo.” As part of Modaxo, Elovate and Trellint can now leverage the collective expertise and resources available to them. This includes access to investment, support, coaching, best practices, and valuable peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
The path ahead in 2025
We expect 2025 to be another milestone year for Volaris Group as we enter our 30th year of acquiring technology companies. As we continue to deliver on our strong track record of M&A, we commit to our promise to be forever invested in the businesses we acquire and to strengthen the legacies entrusted to us by business owners who sell their companies.
