Vista Equity Partners is a world-renowned venture capital firm that focuses on financing technology companies. Its investment power is so high that in the last two months it has acquired three companies in the sector. In this post we are going to talk about the companies that have been bought out and the reasons why Vista Equity has decided to undertake these operations.
Founded in 2000 in Austin, Texas, Vista Equity Partners specialises in investments in the software, data and technology industries, working with companies that have a strong long-term perspective. In their investment process they continuously identify specific companies that can be acquired and transformed into predictable, high cash flow businesses.
It has more than $44 billion invested internationally in technology companies. These investments are spread across more than 50 companies offering software products to 800,000 customers and across 175 countries.
Below are Vista's latest investments in venture capital firms:
Wrike (San Jose, California) is a SaaS-based collaborative work management platform that helps teams and organisations achieve operational excellence. The software is used by more than 15,000 companies in 130 countries, enabling them to deliver products and services at scale in the on-demand economy.
The growth of this company over the last decade has been so high that this year Deloitte has included it in the list "Technology Fast 500"of North America. This appointment did not come as a surprise either, as they have been honoured on this list since 2015. The $17 million in annual revenue can corroborate Wrike's continued growth.
It currently competes with other companies in the sector that are related to the activity carried out by Wrike, such as Basecamp, Smartsheet or Podium.
As far as the operation is concerned, Vista has made it official on 29 November. leveraged buyout (LBO or Leveraged Bouyout) of Wrike for an undisclosed amount. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate global growth, entering untapped markets, and product development.
"Vista seeks to partner with category-leading software companies, such as the recent investments in Marketo, Xactly y Cvent. We are always looking for outstanding companies with an accelerated trajectory; that's what we found in Wrike," said Patrick Severson, director of Vista Equity Partners.
Apptiowhose products are based on hybrid and cloud-based business management software, was founded in 2007 in Bellevue, Washington. The company has annual revenues of $198.7 million, making it an industry leader. Competitors Cloudability, Numerify or Comsciamong others, have an annual revenue range of between USD 4 million and USD 15 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vista will acquire all outstanding shares of Apptio for a total value of approximately USD 1.94 billion. Apptio shareholders will receive USD 38 in cash per share, representing a total of USD 1.94 billion. 53% premium over the closing price.
"The deal is going to help the company bring its products to market faster," said Apptio CEO Sunny Gupta. "Apptio had multiple offers from strategic and private investors before it agreed to go with Vista," he added. Gupta approved the deal on 11 November, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
Brian Sheth, co-founder and president of Vista, said: "Today, for technology to remain competitive, IT is becoming a critical component for every business on the planet. Apptio has created the leading platform to help customers manage this new paradigm.
Finally, let's talk about Starhome Mach (HaMerkaz, Israel). The company is a leading global provider of SaaS solutions for wholesale and retail roaming services, as well as roaming technology, clearing, settlement and fraud prevention.
In 1999, Starhome Mach revolutionised the mobile industry with the introduction of its innovative international solutions. Currently, its solution portfolio includes B2B settlement, real-time analytics, fraud and security and IoT, etc.
They have a customer base of more than 300 mobile network operators, including 24 leading telecommunications groups, leading to annual revenues of USD 96.8 million. Their closest competitors are Syniverse, Subex Limited y Tyntec.
El 2 de octubre se confirmó la venta total de la compañía por parte de su actual propietario, Fortissimo Capital, a Vista Equity Partners. Esta adquisición se empareja con la fusión con Telarix, empresa que proporciona soluciones líderes de interconexión para la optimización de negocios, y reúne a dos proveedores de software líderes en la industria global de las telecomunicaciones.
Con esta combinación se crea la primera y única solución de tecnología de extremo a extremo que permite a los operadores de redes virtuales móviles y de telecomunicaciones (MVNO) administrar y optimizar las relaciones de sus socios en cuanto a transacciones de voz, SMS y datos. El negocio combinado servirá a miles de clientes en más de 130 países a nivel mundial.
"Estamos encantados de ayudar a reunir a las plataformas, clientes y equipos de gestión líderes del mercado de Telarix y Starhome Mach para abordar de manera única las necesidades de tecnología holística de los operadores de telecomunicaciones de todo el mundo", dijo Rob Rogers, Codirector de Vista Foundation Fund.
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