SALTO invests in Austrian company Gantner, strengthening access control solutions portfolio and welcomes new shareholders

SALTO Systems ("SALTO"), a leading manufacturer of electronic access control solutions, has acquired Gantner Electronic Austria Holding GmbH ("Gantner").
 
SALTO is a leading manufacturer of electronic access control solutions with trusted customers in education (Princeton University, Oxford University), hospitality (Hilton, Meliá Hotels and Resorts), healthcare (Cleveland Clinic), commercial (Assemblée Nationale, T-Mobile), workspaces (IWG Group, The Executive Centre), retail (BBVA, Migros), co-living and purpose-built student housing (The Student Hotel, Sonder) and residential (Greystar). With one of the broadest access control product portfolios worldwide, SALTO can meet virtually all technical and functional requirements. Access control solutions from SALTO can therefore apply to almost any access point in a building and the area around it. SALTO's access control software offers an intuitive, user-oriented interface that allows access controls to be easily and securely integrated into any type of building size or user requirement.
 
In addition to Gantner, SALTO has added Clay (Netherlands) and Danalock (Denmark) to its portfolio in recent years, strengthening its position in cloud solutions, mobile access solutions and customer-facing solutions such as ticketing systems and cashless payment. 
 
Gantner is an Austrian company specializing in access systems, electronic locking and locker systems, cashless payment, POS and billing systems, staff time recording systems, and ticketing and management software for leisure facilities. Its customer- and service-oriented culture has made Gantner a partner of choice for a variety of clients ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to leading Fortune 500 companies. 
 
The transaction was financed through a combination of capital increase, bank financing and cash. The capital increase amounts to EUR 125 million and was underwritten by existing shareholders, such as ALANTRA (Spain), and new investors, such as SOFINA (Belgium), PENINSULA CAPITAL (Luxembourg) and FLORAC (France). Financial investors hold a combined stake of 30% in SALTO, while the remainder remains in the hands of SALTO's founders and managers (60%) and private investors (10%).

SALTO was attracted to Gantner in part because of their strong commitment to research and development. "The addition of Gantner to the SALTO portfolio offers a very bright future for our ability to continue to deliver the very best in electronic access control solutions," said Javier Roquero, co-founder and CEO of SALTO. "Gantner's product portfolio offers a variety of innovative locking solutions, as well as cashless payment and ticketing systems that enrich and diversify our product offering and enhance the end-user experience. We are delighted to welcome Gantner to the SALTO family." 
 
"The new partnership with SALTO allows us to expand our product portfolio, make optimal use of important synergies, better target our markets and cover customer segments accurately. This puts us in an optimal position to continue our dynamic growth," said Elmar Hartmann, CEO of Gantner Group. 
 
With a combined workforce of 1,200 employees in 40 countries, including more than 230 employees active in R&D, sales of 260 million euros and more than one million access points delivered per year, the combined group solidifies its position as a world leader in electronic access control.
 
SALTO and Gantner are ready and willing to realize new growth projects together. The combined group will ensure that SALTO's customers can offer their guests and employees a hassle-free complete experience (such as access to parking lots, main entrance, elevators, ticketing, cash payments, safes, office doors, cafeteria and leisure facilities, all with the same login credentials). "If there is one thing that the global COVID pandemic has taught us, it is that the ability to deliver more contactless solutions that can be managed by end users is very much needed and will not go away," said Javier Roquero. "Gantner has developed a variety of solutions that give end users more autonomy in accessing, paying for goods, buying tickets and gaining access to special events. This adds incredible value to our existing efforts to provide our customers with more contactless solutions."