Paris, 16 July 2026 – Comet Software, a European vertical market software group, today announced that it has secured an additional acquisition facility of €80 million from Ares Credit funds (“Ares”), affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative investment manager. This new facility brings the group’s total capital raised in less than 2.5 years to €200 million.
A funding and acquisition momentum driving hyper-growth
This financing is part of an exceptional period of expansion for the group. In record time, Comet Software has established itself as a leading acquirer and operator in the European vertical software market. The platform today brings together seventeen companies, generates annual revenue of nearly €60 million and draws on the expertise of more than 400 employees. Building on this track record, the group reaffirms its ambition to reach €100 million in revenue by2027.
To support this trajectory, this new €80 million financing follows CometSoftware’s €60 million equity raise in April 2024 with Alpera Partners and the initial €40 million acquisition facility secured from Ares in November 2025.Ares’s overall commitment now stands at €120 million.
In parallel, Comet Software continues to roll out its geographic and sector expansion strategy with six new targeted acquisitions in France, the Benelux and Spain. The group welcomes four French software publishers (higher education, tourism, culture, construction) as well as two publishers dedicated to the healthcare sector (Netherlands and Spain). The names of these companies, which will strengthen Comet Software's presence in these specialised markets, will be announced in the coming weeks. Combined with this new financing, these transactions mark an acceleration of the group's European expansion strategy.The names of the companies joining the group will be announced in the coming weeks.
A Platform Designed for Entrepreneurs
Comet Software brings together vertical software businesses serving niche markets, and offers each company joining the group:
1. Operational autonomy, allowing management teams to preserve their culture, agility and local identity.
2. Tailored support and access to shared resources to accelerate growth through strategic and financial support, AI transformation, go-to-market and commercial excellence.
3. A unique opportunity to become shareholders in the group, enabling founders and executives to participate directly in the collective value creation of a larger, more resilient and high-growth platform.
Investing Heavily in Artificial Intelligence
As the software market enters a new phase defined by artificial intelligence, Comet Software is investing significantly to further modernise its products and embedAI where it matters most, inside the mission-critical workflows its softwarealready runs for customers. Across its engineering teams, the group is deploying agentic AI coding tools to accelerate development, shorten release cycles and raise developer productivity, freeing its teams to focus on the domain-specific problems that create high value for their clients.
This investment is delivered through the same philosophy that defines Comet Software. Comet’s central platform provides the tooling, expertise, infrastructure and shared best practices that no single company could easily build alone, while each business retains full ownership of its product roadmap and customer relationships.
Axel Jonsson, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Comet Software, commented:
“In under two and a half years, Comet Software has grown into a €60 million European group. This new facility from Ares, together with the renewed confidence of Alpera Partners and of the reinvesting founders, gives us the financial means to keep building the leading home for Europe’s best vertical software companies. Our conviction is unchanged: preserve what makes each company unique, and give it the resources to go further, nowhere more so than in artificial intelligence, where we are investing heavily to modernise our products and empower our teams.”
Basile Paul-Petit, Managing Partner at Alpera Partners, commented:
“This new milestone further validates the relevance of Comet Software’s model for software entrepreneurs looking for a permanent home for their businesses. We are proud to continue supporting a team whose disciplined execution and strategic vision position Comet Software as a reference platform in the European vertical software market.”
Zineb Benkiran, Managing Director at Ares, commented:
“We are delighted to continue supporting Comet Software as the business accelerates its growth strategy focused on innovation, agility, and market leadership. Underpinned by a highly defensible business model and strong entrepreneurial culture, we believe Comet Software is well positioned for further expansion. We look forward to building on our collaboration with Alpera, as well as Axel and his team.”
About CometSoftware
Comet Software is a permanent home for vertical software companies in Europe. The group acquires established software businesses and supports their long-term growth through operational expertise, shared resources and applied AI, all in a permanent ownership model. The group currently comprises seventeen companies, generates approximately €60 million in revenue, employs more than 400 professionals, and aims to reach €100 million by 2027.
About Alpera Partners
Alpera Partners is an investment firm specialising in building and financing buy-and-build platforms across essential and fragmented sectors in Western Europe. Since 2022, Alpera has launched six consolidation platforms in nuclear, vertical software, accounting, human and animal healthcare, and hospitality. The team has completed over 75 acquisitions and deployed more than €120 million of capital, applying a proven methodology inspired by North American and Nordic models combining organic and M&A-driven growth.
About Ares Management
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to advance our stakeholders' long-term goals by providing flexible capital that supports businesses and creates value for our investors and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of March 31, 2026, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had over $644 billion of assets under management, with operations across North America, South America, Europe,Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
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Press Contacts
Comet Software
Forward Global
Rebecca David
+33 604748369
rebecca.david@forwardglobal.com
Ares Management
Giles Bethule
+44 7879615114
media.europe@aresmgmt.com
