IFS, the global cloud software company, announced that Hg, a leading software and services investor, has agreed to become a significant minority shareholder in IFS and WorkWave.
Long-term investor EQT remains the majority shareholder, with Hg and TA Associates as significant minority shareholders. The transaction values IFS and WorkWave at $10bln USD and sets both companies up to further grow their position as leading players in growing sectors.
IFS is the software vendor for organizations who want to differentiate on service. The IFS Cloud platform is fully composable, with a broad industry depth, and packed with innovation so that companies can be their best when it matters to their customers — at the Moment of Service. With thousands of the world’s most respected brands as customers, IFS is a recognized provider across multiple sectors including Service Management (both Field Service Management and Enterprise Service Management), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
WorkWave’s suite of products empower service-oriented companies in its target verticals to reach their full potential through scalable, cloud-based software solutions that support every stage of a business life cycle, including marketing, sales, service delivery, customer interaction and financial transactions.
Following consecutive years of consistent growth at both IFS and WorkWave, the combined investment from EQT, TA and Hg, an investor with over 20 years’ focus on software business across Europe and North America, will help the companies further accelerate growth organically and inorganically through acquisition.
Darren Roos, CEO of IFS and Chairman of WorkWave, said: “We’re proud to have built two amazing software brands – and we continue to go from strength-to-strength. We are structured to scale, we have outstanding technology, and our people and partners remain obsessed with our customers’ success. These have been the foundations of our success at both IFS and WorkWave, and now with the additional backing and software expertise of Hg alongside EQT and TA, we have the ability to accelerate even faster.”
Nic Humphries, Senior Partner and Head of the Saturn funds at Hg, said: “We have spent well over 20 years with a strong focus on enterprise software. As a result we have followed IFS’ success for several years and recognize it as a very high-quality cloud business. Its consistent performance and growth are a result of a compelling and differentiated proposition, built by a strong management team led by Darren. Both IFS and WorkWave offer very strong cloud products in verticals which are growing rapidly and we therefore see clear runway for sustained growth for the business.”
Johannes Reichel, Partner at EQT added: “IFS is well positioned to take advantage of several global thematic trends, including customers wanting to digitalize their core operations enabling them to deliver even better service to their customers as well as more sustainable usage of their resources and assets. We believe there are long-term growth opportunities that IFS can capitalize on, especially with the combined support of EQT, Hg and TA helping fuel growth.”
Naveen Wadhera, Managing Director at TA, said: “As industries and enterprises push to digitize and streamline their core operations, it presents even greater opportunity for innovative software leaders. We have been impressed by IFS’ and WorkWave’s strategic response to this market opportunity and believe the companies are well positioned for sustainable, accelerated growth, with a focus on strengthening product capabilities and expanding in targeted industry verticals. We are thrilled to continue supporting the development journey of IFS and WorkWave, together with Darren and the management team, EQT and now Hg.”
The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close during Q3 2022.
Arma Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser to the sellers on this transaction alongside White & Case (legal), Kirkland & Ellis (legal) and PwC (financial and tax).
