Noventiq (formerly Softline) announces long term employee partnership program

Softline Holding plc began trading under the brand name Noventiq after divesting part of its business in October 2022.

Softline operates in an industry where talent is pivotal to business growth and competitive differentiation. As part of our wider employee value proposition, the Board is keen to encourage a culture of greater employee share ownership across the organisation.

Complementary to the long-term equity based executive incentive plan, in fiscal year 22 the company intends to introduce the LTEPP, an all employee equity-based plan. Employees will be eligible to receive equity options worth up to 45% of their annual pay each year at the board’s discretion, when the share price achieves certain growth targets. Options will vest over the period up to five years following issuance, depending on the size of grant.

In addition, the company plans to offer an all employee share purchase scheme, allowing employees to purchase shares having a value of up to 15% of their annual pay at a discount of 15% at the time of acquisition.

Softline is a talent led business, and these programs are key enablers to helping us to attract, retain, and motivate the best people. If the performance objectives are achieved, with share price growth of 30% CAGR or more, dilution for all new plans is anticipated to be up to approximately 4% per annum. As recently announced, Softline has also implemented a share repurchase program designed to help offset the impact of dilution from the long-term management incentive plans.

Igor Borovikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline Group, noted:

Our goal is to drive a long-term partnership with our employees who represent our core value, and our key asset in the market. The company that wins in the market is the one that knows how to attract and retain the best personnel. We strive to be the best company on the market for employees, creating an environment of shared success where our people can prosper. As a public company, we have an additional unique tool for this. This is our partnership option plan. A significant difference between our plan and others, is that it is designed for all employees of the company. This not only makes us more attractive in the market, it is also motivated by our appetite to drive more value, underpinned by the long-term commitment of our people as we execute on our three-dimensional growth strategy. With this innovative partnership plan we align the goals and objectives of our shareholders and employees. We are confident that this represents a very attractive partnership plan that will be well received by all employees, is aligned to the interests of our shareholders and investors, and will help make us even more competitive in the marketplace.

Softline Global CEO Sergey Chernovolenko said:

Softline has a clear strategy and ambitious goals in the market. We firmly believe that our team of talented professionals are a key success factor to our competitiveness and achieving strong, durable results. This program is a clear message to our team that we understand who is behind our success, and is also a strong message to the talent yet to join Softline!

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About Softline

Softline is a leading global solutions and services provider in digital transformation and cybersecurity, with its headquarters in London. The company enables, facilitates and accelerates the digital transformation of its customers' businesses, connecting over 150,000 enterprise organizations across a comprehensive range of industries with over 6,000 best-in-class IT vendors, and delivering its own services and proprietary solutions.

With approximately 6,000 employees globally, Softline operates in more than 50 countries with significant growth potential in multiple markets from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. The company addresses the entire rage of its customers' IT needs and is positioned at the center of the digital transformation megatrend.

Since its inception, Softline has achieved a turnover of US$ 1.8 billion in the fiscal year of 2020, and it's currently one of the fastest growing companies in the sector. In October 2021, the company conducted a successful initial public offering of its depositary receipts on the London and Moscow stock exchanges.