.png)
An acquisition is a high-stakes decision for any growth stage company, one that often stretches the organization to its limit. It can drain management bandwidth, slow product velocity, and introduce technical debt that linger for years.
Most founders treat M&A as a resource-heavy, singular effort. Holidu has completed thirteen.
By systematizing the transition from a "bespoke project" to a "repeatable process," Holidu has reached a point where each acquisition compounds their capability rather than their complexity.
After speaking with Johannes Siebers (Co-Founder & CEO) and Daniel Frechen (VP of M&A), it is clear they have architected a company capable of absorbing fragmented market players into a single technical engine.
Their success is built on a continuous, four-stage workflow:
In fragmented markets, local brands often possess deep customer trust but lack the scale to optimize their technology. Holidu’s strategy is to acquire that trust and distribution, then immediately move the business onto a more efficient structure by replacing the underlying infrastructure with their own.
To protect the ROI of this "re-platforming" model, Holidu maintains a high bar for capital allocation. While they work with consultants and bankers across the ecosystem, they have a strong preference for proprietary deal flow over formal, high-heat auctions. Competitive processes are frequently designed to drive price through external competition and artificial urgency, which can result overpaying for an asset while sacrificing the time needed for deep due diligence.
Instead, they prioritize building direct, long-term relationships. Nurturing a deep funnel of targets allows them to maintain "optionality", the ability to walk away if the price or technical debt doesn't align with the unit economics of their engine.
"We generally stay away from auctions. If it's an auction, it's very hard to build a real relationship. And our take is really to go for the muscle, for the repetitive processes, instead of going for the one exceptionally big [auctioned] thing."
- Daniel Frechen
A silent killer of M&A value is "Tech Legacy", the habit of letting acquired systems run in parallel with the core platform.
Holidu’s rule is absolute: No long-term parallel systems. They migrate everything onto the Holidu technical stack within months. To achieve this without halting their own roadmap, they utilize custom AI tools to automate the "repetitive micro-tasks" of migration:
Many acquirers try to preserve dual identities to avoid immediate friction. Holidu operates on a "One Identity" model. This requires a high level of radical transparency from the first conversation.
Every employee from the acquired company is integrated into a standardized role within the existing Holidu org chart. By communicating the new structure immediately, they avoid the "cultural rot" that occurs when expectations aren't met months down the line.
While the transition involves a shift in identity, talent that was previously capped by the limits of a local player gain immediate access to the resources, technical mentorship, and career paths of a pan-European leader.
At Holidu, the integration plan is finalized in minute detail before the contract is signed. This is not a "directional" strategy, but a comprehensive blueprint that identifies exactly which systems will be decommissioned and how the acquired company’s resources and functions are structurally re-mapped into the core organization.
Even with a script, there are always integration challenges.
"You can plan everything, but things can still go wrong. You need a trust-based relationship... a good relationship with the seller to navigate whatever challenge may come up."
- Johannes Siebers
This trust acts as the operational safety net when the technical migration hits an unforeseen hurdle.
Holidu’s inorganic growth strategy is built on extreme repetition and foresight; almost no dimension of the acquisition is left to chance once the migration begins.
By treating M&A as a permanent organizational muscle rather than a finance-led project, Holidu has achieved a rare level of inorganic efficiency. Their strategy has not only accelerated growth but has done so at a fraction of the traditional cost, proving that in fragmented markets, the playbook itself is the compounding advantage.
Before pursuing your next target, ask:
We back founders who bring transactional rigor to operational execution. Holidu’s ability to turn inorganic growth into a systematized process is the gold standard for scaling in fragmented markets.
.jpg)
