Marathon

What Marathon does

Marathon Software AB is a Stockholm-based investment holding company founded in January 2023 by Tempeludden as a permanent-capital vehicle dedicated to acquiring and operating profitable Nordic niche B2B SaaS businesses, typically with SEK 5–50 million in revenue. The company acquires majority stakes while allowing founders to retain meaningful minority ownership, then supports portfolio companies with operational involvement across sales, technology, finance, marketing, analytics, and HR — coordinated through a structured forum network (CEO, technology, product, customer success, and sales/marketing peer groups) and shared resources such as AWS credits and HubSpot discounts. Marathon explicitly distinguishes itself from traditional PE by operating without fund-imposed exit timelines, framing M&A as a long-term partnership rather than a transaction.

The portfolio spans at least thirteen acquired brands across maritime crew management (Omborddata, Panasoft), temperature-controlled logistics (MobiOne), election administration (Troman, Kaskelot, Mobilise), healthcare education (Orzone), energy emissions reporting (Entric), B2B lending fintech (Keeros), sports-club SaaS (laget.se), legal IT (Login Hasselberg), IT security (upKeeper), and facility management (Timewave, Avista Time). Underlying technology is independent vertical SaaS rather than a unified platform; several subsidiaries hold dominant positions in narrow Nordic niches (e.g., Login Hasselberg has 100% Swedish market share in wage-guarantee applications). Marathon also pursues opportunistic investments outside its Nordic core, including leading Atlas Card's $27M Series B (January 2026) and participating in xAI's Valor Compute Infrastructure debt vehicle (November 2025). Revenue is generated entirely through consolidated subsidiary SaaS subscription streams — Marathon's own stated turnover was SEK 110 million as of April 2024, with stated acquisition pace of ~4 companies per year and an explicit 3–5 year IPO ambition.

Leadership is operator-led: CEO Richard Treffner is joined by co-founders Johan Hazelius (Operations) and Chris Tholén (Technology & Product, previously Bandpage-sold-to-Google), plus Anna Malmgren (Sourcing & Sales Strategy, ex-GetAccept), and Partners-in-Residence covering Finland and vertical domains. The board includes Hampton River Partners' Matthew Morris (lead investor), Per Granath, Ida Saalman, and Mikael Tarnawski-Berlin. Headcount at the holding-company level is 1–10, with most personnel embedded in portfolio companies.

Name

Marathon

Legal name

Marathon Software AB

Website

https://www.marathonsoftware.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Marathon Software AB is a Stockholm-based permanent-capital holding company (founded 2023) that acquires and operates profitable Nordic niche B2B SaaS businesses (SEK 5–50M revenue), supporting 13+ portfolio companies across maritime, logistics, fintech, GovTech, and healthcare verticals through shared resources and peer networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B SaaS Portfolio Holding

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Software Publishers (51321)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Software/Application Support (SaaS, Enterprise Apps) (BPAAACAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

B2B / Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy Consulting (MPAAAFAM)

Keywords

• Niche B2B SaaS investing
• Software company acquisitions
• Nordic software portfolio
• Permanent capital holding
• Vertical software operating

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. SaaS/Subscription revenue from portfolio companies: Marathon acquires and develops niche B2B SaaS companies that generate recurring subscription revenue from their software solutions. Portfolio companies serve specific vertical markets with specialized software.
2. Investment returns: As an evergreen investment company with permanent capital, Marathon generates returns through portfolio company growth and potential future exits, with stated goal of IPO within 3-5 years.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Marathon Software AB is a Swedish investment company that acquires, develops and holds majority ownership in profitable Nordic niche B2B SaaS companies with sales between SEK 5-50 million. It operates with permanent capital from parent Tempeludden, providing operational support across sales, technology, finance, marketing, analytics, CRM and HR while founders remain as minority owners. The portfolio spans logistics, maritime, government, healthcare education, fintech, energy, legal, IT, sports and facility management verticals.

Product overview

Marathon Software is an investment company focused on niche B2B software companies, rather than a single unified product. The company operates a portfolio of independent software companies across various verticals including logistics (MobiOne/Mobione for temperature-controlled transport), fintech (Keeros for B2B lending), GovTech (Troman, Kaskelot, Mobilise for election management), maritime (Omborddata, Panasoft for crew management), healthcare training (Orzone), energy (Entric for emissions reporting), facility management (Timewave, Avista Time), sports administration (laget.se), IT security (upKeeper), and legal software (Login Hasselberg). Each portfolio company maintains its own product brand and operates independently while receiving operational and strategic support from Marathon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MobiOne Leading software system for planning and managing temperature-controlled food transports across the Nordics, with control over routes, deliveries and traceability to ensure an unbroken and safe food supply chain. Targets food producers, transport companies and fuel distributors.
• Omborddata Sweden's leading crew management system for ships, part of the combined Nordic maritime software provider. Handles crew planning, scheduling, payroll and administration for maritime operators.
• Panasoft Finland's leading crew management system for ships, including planning, scheduling and administration of crew. Targets maritime operators in Finland and the broader Nordics.
• Mobilise Leading Norwegian workforce management system for municipalities and associations covering recruitment, training, scheduling, e-learning, payroll and reporting for election workers and volunteers. Targets Norwegian municipalities and volunteer organisations.
• Orzone Europe's leading platform for healthcare education, providing functions to plan, track and analyze results to strengthen quality at every step of the learning journey. Targets medical universities, higher education institutions, regions and medical specialist organisations.
• Entric Market-leading software for measuring and reporting emissions from power plants and energy-producing facilities. Targets operators of large combustion plants and energy-producing facilities for regulatory compliance and sustainability reporting.
• Troman Leading platforms for efficient management of publicly elected officials and election administration in Sweden's municipalities and regions, including Valman for election management and Kaskelot for public elections. Used by 175+ municipalities and regions.
• Keeros Software for managing lending for banks and finance companies specializing in B2B business credits, including invoice financing, accounts receivable management and lending, with integrations for existing financial systems. Targets B2B lenders.
• laget.se Software helping Swedish sports associations, clubs and teams with communication, administration and membership fees. Targets Swedish sports clubs, associations and teams.
• Login Hasselberg IT systems that streamline administrative functions for Swedish law firms, including the Garanti XL wage guarantee application which holds 100% market share in Sweden. Targets Swedish law firms and insolvency practitioners.
• upKeeper IT security management software that helps MSPs and IT departments keep computers and mobiles secure in an efficient way. Targets managed service providers and IT departments.
• Avista Time Web-based platform for quality follow-up and planning of assignments within Facility Management and care services. Targets facility management and care service providers.
• Timewave Market-leading business system for service companies within the RUT and cleaning industry. Targets home service and professional cleaning companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio company login Hasselberg achieved 100% market share in Sweden for wage guarantee applications
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• TromancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2024Troman offers GovTech software suite for managing publicly elected officials in Sweden's Municipalities and Regions. Portfolio company acquisition where founders Robert Spethz and Fredrik Heidgert remain as owners and continue running the company.
• KeeroscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2024Keeros is a fintech company with software for B2B lenders providing invoice financing, accounts receivable management, and lending. Marathon partners as main investor while founders Henrik and Krister remain as owners and continue running the company. Keeros is Marathon's first fintech portfolio company.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Roper Technologies: US-listed perpetual acquirer of vertical software and engineered products; comparable buy-and-hold philosophy at much larger scale, often cited as a global benchmark for Marathon's strategy.
• Hg Capital: European software-focused private equity firm that buys and develops B2B SaaS businesses; relevant as a comparison point for software PE, though Hg operates time-limited funds rather than permanent capital.
• EQT Partners: Large Nordic-headquartered private equity firm with software and tech-services holdings; relevant as a regional PE incumbent, though Marathon differentiates via permanent capital and smaller deal size.
• Vista Equity Partners: US software-focused PE firm with comparable vertical SaaS thesis, but operates at materially larger scale and within time-limited fund vehicles rather than permanent capital.

Direct peers

• Vitec Software Group: Nordic-listed perpetual acquirer of vertical market software (VMS) businesses; business model of acquiring small profitable niche software companies and operating them long-term is structurally identical to Marathon's strategy.
• Constellation Software: Canadian-listed perpetual acquirer of VMS businesses and the canonical reference point for Marathon's "buy-and-hold-forever" model; comparable acquisition criteria (small, profitable, niche B2B software) and no time-bound fund structure.
• Lifco AB: Swedish-listed serial acquirer led by Carl Bennet, focused on acquiring and developing profitable niche industrial and software leaders across the Nordics and Europe; directly comparable in size, geography, and holding-company approach.
• Addnode Group: Swedish-listed acquirer of vertical software companies in design, product information management, and public sector — overlapping Nordic geographic focus and similar acquire-and-develop playbook.
• Volati AB: Swedish-listed serial acquirer that builds groups of leading niche B2B companies with long-term ownership horizons; closely mirrors Marathon's stated mission and Nordic focus.
• Traction AB: Swedish-listed investment company that acquires and develops small and mid-sized Nordic businesses with a long-term ownership perspective; similar capital structure and Nordic mid-market acquisition approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/treffner
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/treffner

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marathon