software as a service

TA Associates has agreed to acquire ITRS, a provider of monitoring and analytics software used in the financial services industry, from The Carlyle Group. The transaction is expected to close in April 2017.

An example of ITRS’ products is Geneos which monitors the performance of servers, infrastructure, connectivity and applications to determine whether a company is receiving market data, such as the prices of publicly-traded securities, in a timely, accurate and competitive manner.

ITRS serves more than 170 global clients, including 9 out of the top 10 investment banks, as well as exchanges and trading venues, hedge funds, and brokers and vendors. The company, founded in 1997 and led by CEO Guy Warren, has 180 employees and is headquartered in London with additional offices in New York, Hong Kong, Manila and Malaga (www.itrsgroup.com).

Since investing in ITRS in September 2011 – through its Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II fund (this is the sixth exit for the 2008 vintage fund) – Carlyle worked with the ITRS management team on a number of initiatives including increasing ITRS’s market penetration from its traditional base in capital markets to other financial services markets, including hedge funds, and exchanges and trading platforms.

“Carlyle has provided strategic guidance and support for the development of our current revenue models, which are now increasingly sustainable and recurring,” said Mr. Warren. “They also supported our evolution from offering heritage data monitoring products to our new state-of-the-art data analytics tools. Carlyle guided ITRS into new markets across the financial services sector.”

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation.  The firm employs approximately 1,600 people in 35 offices across six continents and is based in Washington, DC (www.carlyle.com).

“As one of the leading providers of performance monitoring tools to the financial services sector, ITRS is a highly attractive investment for TA Associates,” said J. Morgan Seigler, a Managing Director at TA Associates. “The company has experienced accelerating growth in a market we believe will continue to offer additional new business opportunities.”

TA Associates makes buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, and technology industries. Since founding in 1968, TA has invested in over 480 companies globally, including more than 100 software companies, and has raised more than $24 billion in capital. The firm has offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong (www.ta.com).

William Blair (www.williamblair.com) is financial advisor to ITRS.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | March 7, 2017

Riverside Partners has completed a majority equity investment in Contractor Management Services, a provider of compliance software and payment services for independent contractor work forces.

Contractor Management Services (CMS) products and services are cloud-based and allow contracting companies to pay independent contractors as well as track, document and facilitate compliance with regulatory, legal and tax requirements associated with the use of independent contractors.   CMS is based in Phoenix (www.ICMpower.com) (www.ictherightway.com).

“CMS provides essential solutions to a large and growing base of contracting companies and independent contractors across multiple end markets,” said Steven Kaplan, General Partner at Riverside Partners.  “CMS’ technology-based approach is differentiated, and the company’s software directly addresses both the payment settlement requirements as well as the complex compliance needs of its clients.”

CMS was founded in 2001 by Dennis Roccaforte and he will continue to serve on the board of directors of the company and remains a significant owner. E. Patrick LaVoie will continue to run CMS as its Chief Executive Officer.

“We chose Riverside Partners because of their experience investing in and growing technology-based services companies,” said Mr. LaVoie.  “We expect that our partnership with Riverside Partners will allow us to continue our innovation around the new “gig” economy, expand our technology-based service offerings and accelerate our growth while continuing to meet and exceed our customers’ needs.”  Borrowed from the music industry, the word “gig” refers to flexible employment, contingent labor, and temporary labor.

“CMS’ software platform will enable it to scale very efficiently and we look forward to assisting the company in expanding its role as a leader and innovator in the space,” said Michelle Noon, Partner at Riverside Partners.

Riverside Partners invests in middle market healthcare and technology-oriented companies that have revenues from $20 million to $200 million and EBITDA’s from $5 million to $25 million. Riverside Partners is currently investing its fifth fund, Riverside Partners Fund V, LP, with $561 million of capital commitments.  Riverside Partners has been very active of late having just closed (April 2015) an equity investment in R&D Altanova, a provider of services and products used to test integrated circuits.  The firm was founded in 1989 and is based in Boston (www.riversidepartners.com).

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-12-15