Serent Capital has made an investment in the Knowland Group, a data and software provider to the hospitality industry.
Knowland’s cloud-based sales and catering services and its competitive intelligence tools help hotels maximize revenue from meeting and conference space. The company serves more than 3,000 hotel customers and 25,000 users globally. Knowland was ranked as the 76th fastest growing company (public or private) in North America by Deloitte in 2011 and the second fastest growing company in the travel industry for both 2009 and 2010 by Inc. Magazine. The company was founded by Michael McKean in 2004 and is headquartered in Washington DC (www.knowlandgroup.com).
“I wanted to be as thoughtful as possible as to the next steps for the business,” said Mr. McKean. “Over the last few years, we met a great number of potential partners. At the end of the day, Serent stood out for a number of reasons. Among other things, Serent strong reputation and experience in the hospitality and technology market was compelling. In addition, Serent’s business-building strategy resonated, particularly given the success they have achieved across other firms in their portfolio.”
Leveraging its principals’ experience investing in the hospitality market, Serent spent considerable time evaluating emerging companies in the hospitality technology sector. “Knowland established itself as a leader in the hospitality technology market by helping hotels maximize revenue from their meeting and conference space by leveraging Knowland’s unique data and technology. Our team is excited about the opportunity to work with Knowland and the great executive team Mike has put together,” said Kevin Frick, co-founder and General Partner of Serent Capital. “Knowland is revolutionizing the group segment of the hospitality industry, and we look forward to working with the team to further that goal.”
Serent Capital has over $600 million in capital under management from a mix of endowments, pension funds, fund-of-funds, and family offices. The firm invests from $10 million to $100 million in service businesses with revenues from $10 million to $100 million and EBITDAs from $3 million to $10 million. Transaction types include buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital. Serent Capital is based in San Francisco (www.serentcapital.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-27-13
