(Bloomberg) -- SoftwareOne Holding AG is in advanced discussions to take over Crayon Group Holding A/S in a transaction that would create a major pan-European software reseller.

The Swiss firm is planning to buy Crayon for a consideration of cash and shares, it said in a statement Friday, without elaborating. Bloomberg News reported on the talks earlier and that an announcement on a combination could come this month. 

Crayon’s shares rose as much as 14% Thursday to the highest since August 2022. They eventually closed up 8.4%, the biggest daily gain since Sept. 16, giving the company a market value of $1.1 billion. SoftwareOne, meanwhile, slid 16% to a record low in Zurich, leaving it with a market capitalization of about 970 million Swiss francs ($1.1 billion).

There’s no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction, SoftwareOne said. Crayon also confirmed it is in advanced talks with SoftwareOne.

Bloomberg reported in September that SoftwareOne, which has been considering a sale of itself, was exploring a potential combination with Crayon. 

Based in Stans, Switzerland, SoftwareOne is among the largest resellers of Microsoft Corp. software licenses. It has been in the crosshairs of private equity suitors for most of the year, with its previous board rejecting an offer from Bain Capital in January. SoftwareOne’s founding shareholders voted to oust the leadership in April after the Bain offer was turned down.

Oslo-based Crayon is predominantly active in the Nordic region, distributing licenses for the likes of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corp. and Google Cloud. It is expected to record revenue of around 7.2 billion kroner ($648 million) this year, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg. 

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