CEO Jan Bussels shares how his M&A strategy has resulted in Digitopia’s exponential growth in recent years.
Jan started his career as an economist, spending more than 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry at companies such as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. One day, while getting French fries for his family, he saw a digital screen with some information and advertising hanging in the shop. Having worked in sales and marketing, as well as a director of strategic technologies, he returned home with both dinner and a business idea.
“I started Digitopia with one screen in the attic of my house,” Jan explains. “I didn’t have internet or a computer, so that was my first ‘big’ investment. I outsourced the technical parts – such as installations and upgrades – until, step by step, it grew.”
When the company reached €6 million in revenue in 2022, he decided to use a buy-and-build strategy to scale further, aiming to become a market leader in digital signage and smart office solutions across the Benelux and Europe. “We started with the acquisition of Centomedia, positioning us as the largest Belgian player in digital signage.”
The companies merged to form the Digitopia Group, realising a turnover of €10 million and bringing the number of digital touchpoints they manage to 25,000 across six countries. Jan remained CEO of the business but, after the sale, the staff complement increased to 45 people, including Sylvie Van de Leest, his wife and co-founder, who oversees the group's daily management.
In 2024, Digitopia Group acquired Aviniti (a specialist in audiovisual solutions for meeting rooms and training facilities), following the departure of one of the company’s shareholders, Cronos Group. Founder and director Tim Van Gasse remained on the board of Aviniti and also became a director at Digitopia. Jan took over as CEO and, together with Sylvie, continued the day-to-day management of the company within the Digitopia Group. The acquisition increased the Group’s revenue to €15 million, with over 30,000 digital touchpoints across six countries and 50 employees.
Later that same year, Digitopia also bought THISPLAYS2, which had been seeking a new partner to provide economies of scale and a safe space to perpetuate its leadership position within the retail environment. Founder and director Bruno Hancké remained in charge of the retail strategy, while Jan and Sylvie took over day-to-day management within the group. This brought the business up to a consolidated turnover of €20 million, with 34,000 digital touchpoints.
“To me, entrepreneurship is about bringing people together, united by a shared ambition. That is exactly what is happening here. We strengthen each other without losing our individuality,” Jan says about his buy-and-build strategy.
No pressure to exit post-sale
It was during the pursuit of a French company that Jan first began dealing with PwC. “I realised I was too small to approach the business on my own and needed a credible partner in the room with me,” he shares. “At some point in the conversation, PwC came to me and advised that I should consider selling the company if the figures were as good as I claimed.”
At the time, Jan didn’t have an exit in mind, but he was willing to hear them out. “I reasoned that, if we don’t sell, at least I have a good business analysis done by PwC that I can use when buying new companies.”
The business audit revealed that EBITDA was increasing every week. “We didn’t know we were so profitable in an M&A sense,” he says, honestly.
“You read a lot of things about valuations of companies being important, but the bottom line is just one aspect. At the end of the day, everything comes back to EBITDA – which can be scary, but the magic of the word ‘adjusted’ is unbelievable.”
Jan realised it was now or never and decided to proceed with the sale. “There was a lot of interest from private equity,” he recalls, adding that he signed over 40 non-disclosure agreements and was part of 15 active discussions before finally deciding on one shareholder, Smile Invest.
“Something that really stood out to me was Smile Invest’s evergreen fund and the sympathy of their directors. There’s no pressure for them to exit at a specific point in time, so we can continue to work as long as we want,” Jan notes. This means he has no intentions of leaving the business soon, either. “I’m not ready to retire yet; I like what I do, even with another shareholder,” he admits.
Learning to trust the M&A process
Because of his many years’ experience buying companies and now selling his own, Jan sees the process very practically: “If you don’t like the idea of someone becoming your boss, then don’t sell. It means you’re not ready. It’s that simple.”
Selling his own business also served as good practice for when Jan has to hand it over to the leaders who will continue his momentum. His first assignment under the new shareholder was appointing a C-suite to support him as CEO and so that the company becomes less dependent on him in the long term. “It was difficult, at first, because if you are used to doing everything yourself, you give that control away, and you’re afraid it could all go terribly wrong,” Jan confesses. “I had to learn to trust the process and the people involved.”
Following Smile Invest's joining as a shareholder, the operations of Digitopia, Centomedia, Aviniti, and THISPLAYS2 merged under a new group name, dgtgroup. The CFO, COO, CTO, and CCO have all settled and are running the show, now, allowing Jan to focus as CEO on the more strategic and commercial parts of the business, such as M&A and vision. “Since Smile came on board, we’ve also acquired Dutch companies NFGD and TSS, strengthening our presence in the Netherlands and underscoring our ambition to further expand our leading position in the Benelux area,” he shares.
At the beginning of this year, dgtgroup closed the circle by acquiring Ocular, a Belgian specialist in immersive experiences. “Altogether, the group is now in a unique position as a real specialist in digital signage, AV/smart office solutions and the creation of immersive experiences,” Jan adds.
This expansion brought dgtgroup today to 150 employees and raised its combined annual turnover to approximately €50 million, with 51.583 screens and branches in Belgium and the Netherlands – growing ten times in just five years.
Read also: How Belgium’s M&A elite navigated carve-outs, strategy, and the art of letting go
