Shock Media B.V. (‘Shock Media’), a leading Dutch managed hosting company, announced today that the family investment firm Strikwerda Investments B.V. (‘SI’) will be investing in the company. Through this partnership, Shock Media will gain access to expertise and capital to shape its next growth phase. This will enable Shock Media to rapidly expand its strong Dutch position, through acquisitions at home and abroad, into a relevant European player.
Shock Media
Shock Media, based in Almelo, is the managed hosting specialist for business-critical websites, webshops, and (web) applications, and was founded in 1999 by Alain Götz. By focusing on the most demanding clients with solutions for complex hosting issues, the company has built a leading position in this niche market. With excellent support and in-depth technical knowledge, customers are optimally advised and supported in achieving their online goals. Shock Media has grown significantly in recent years and has been the continuous winner of the FD Gazellen Award, the annual measurement and award of Het Financieele Dagblad for the fastest-growing companies in the Netherlands, since 2013. With SI’s investment, Shock Media expects to further scale up and attract new talent.
Strikwerda Investments
SI is a family investment firm focused on ambitious, medium, and large SMEs and has a strong track record in the ICT sector. For instance, SI is also the majority shareholder in TWS, with which a market-leading position has been created in the traditional web hosting market in recent years. While ‘Mass Market Webhosting’ is a large market, more growth can be found in specialized hosting segments, such as e-commerce hosting and hosting of business-critical environments. Through previous investments, SI is already active in this segment. Shock Media will further develop this expertise in the coming years, and Alain Götz will, in addition to his current role as CEO of Shock Media, also participate and advise within TWS.
Alain Götz: “The partnership creates a unique opportunity because a platform is established with significant clout, capital, and specific expertise. By collaborating, Shock Media can further scale up while the customer-oriented culture and approach are fully preserved and will also be safeguarded by the existing management. As a strong financial partner, SI makes it possible for us to pursue acquisitions alongside our autonomous growth. Shock Media will become the target platform for all specialized and business-critical hosting solutions within TWS. In addition to acquisitions at home and abroad, we will also become an even more attractive employer, for example, for scarce Linux talent.”
Abe Bakker: “Shock Media is one of the finest companies in the Netherlands and a gem within the European hosting market. The company has shown impressive growth in recent years, thanks to its high level of expertise, customer satisfaction, and excellent reputation. We are convinced that we complement and strengthen each other with our different areas of expertise and together can take a major leap in this attractive market. In our view, the partnership can only be successful if the strength of Shock Media can be safeguarded, including by preserving the team, culture, and autonomy. Our role in the partnership will therefore be to support the management team in continuing the business, its own identity, and its growth. We are very excited to help Shock Media and its team accelerate their growth even further in the coming years. Together, from our strong Dutch base, we can build a leading European player. We look forward to a successful and enjoyable collaboration in realizing the company’s further growth strategy.”
