Granicus, the leading provider of software solutions to improve government efficiency and transparency, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to be majority acquired by Vista Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. The investment continues Vista’s focus on acquiring best-in-class vertical software providers, offering mission-critical software to customers. Existing owner K1 Investment Management will retain a minority ownership stake in Granicus moving forward.
“We believe technology will play an increasingly important role both in enabling the legislative processes that keep our local communities, cities, and states running efficiently, as well as ensuring communication, openness, and transparency in the process,” said Brian Sheth, Co-Founder and President of Vista. “We are thrilled to partner with the Granicus team and invest in the Company as a platform for continued growth. We anticipate accelerated investment to bring additional capabilities to Granicus’ market-leading product suite to serve the needs of our customers.”
“K1 is excited to partner with Vista to support the next phase of growth at Granicus,” said Neil Malik, Co-Founder and CEO of K1. “Since our investment in 2014, Granicus has solidified its position as the cloud software leader for government via strong organic growth, the acquisitions of AMCAD and Civica, and an operational revitalization that consolidated the Company’s multiple offices to a single center of excellence in Denver. We believe Vista will be an outstanding growth partner for Granicus and K1 looks forward to continuing its support of the company.”
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Granicus joins Vista with strong business momentum and significant tailwinds as government representatives look to engage more closely with their constituents. This mirrors a larger trend throughout the government IT industry as a whole, which spent $6 billion last year on software and is expected to grow 42% through 2018, according to Gartner. Approximately 10% of all state and local municipalities in the United States rely on Granicus’ suite of products to increase government transparency and citizen engagement, while creating significant tax-payer savings through increased organizational efficiency, reduced printing costs and decreased manpower expenditure. Additionally, the Company serves several hundred school and special districts, helping provide stronger public visibility and accountability.
“This investment by Vista—the recognized leader in enabling some of the best and most impactful software solutions available today—validates the market leadership we’ve built to date and presents an exciting platform from which to leverage Vista’s immense intellectual capital and resources. We look forward to working with the Vista team to continue to broaden our platform to further serve the needs of our customers,” said Granicus CEO Jason Fletcher.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. Financial terms have not been disclosed. Shea & Company served as financial advisor to Granicus, and Atlas Technology Group acted as financial advisor for Vista.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista Equity Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm with offices in Austin, Chicago and San Francisco, with more than $26 billion in cumulative capital commitments, currently invests in software, data and technology-based organizations led by world-class management teams with long-term perspective. Vista is a value-added investor, contributing professional expertise and multi-level support towards companies realizing their full potential. Vista’s investment approach is anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions, and proven management techniques that yield flexibility and opportunity in private equity investing. For more information, please visit http://www.vistaequitypartners.com.
About Granicus
Granicus provides the industry’s leading cloud-based solutions for government efficiency and transparency, with software that helps more than 1,200 organizations and 63,000 government staff members streamline their workflows and establish more meaningful connections with citizens — online, over social networks and on mobile devices. In 2015, the Center for Digital Government’s Best of the Web winners named Granicus a critical partner to their online success. Granicus’ solutions include live webcasting of public meetings and video archival, complete agenda and legislative management software, and tools for automating boards and commissions management processes, land and vitals records management, as well as in-meeting mobile solutions for elected officials and online feedback platforms for citizens. Additionally, Granicus provides a website content management system built specifically for government. For more information, please visit http://www.granicus.com.
About K1 Investment Management
K1 is an investment firm focusing on high-growth enterprise software companies across North America. K1 seeks to help dynamic businesses achieve successful outcomes by identifying and executing organic and acquisition-based growth opportunities that position its companies as industry leaders. K1 typically invests alongside strong management teams that continue to guide their organizations on a day-to-day basis. K1’s investments vary in the level of ownership in order to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and managers. For more information, please visit http://www.k1capital.com.
