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- Climb's M&A Weekly: IRIS Software Group, Volaris Group and Uniphore all feature
Climb's M&A Weekly: IRIS Software Group, Volaris Group and Uniphore all feature
IRIS Software expands in the accounting software space, Uniphore enhances its AI capabilities and a software deal in the college sports sector
Nick @ Climb
December 08, 2024
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Unbelievable how quickly the year is wrapping up!
Want to again highlight an update from our side to start the newsletter this week —
Given our deal recent momentum + positive M&A sentiment in the markets, we are having many inbound conversation re: M&A. Therefore, we are launching two new advisory services for sellers.
“Quick Shop” - Think of this as a “test the waters” type process to see interest. We will run outreach to a limited pool of highly relevant strategic and financial buyers to determine real time market interest & valuation in your business. Process takes ~1 month start to finish.
“Retained Advisory” - For companies interested in selling 12-24 months out, we will prepare your data room, manage all inbound interest, prepare draft of CIM and identify areas to improve and prescribe advice based on our knowledge of latest market trends.
If either of these engagement models pique your interest, or if you’re looking to run a full-scale exit process, please do get in touch.
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Teamworks announces acquisition of Basepath to expand NIL solutions
Overview: Teamworks, a sports software company, has acquired the NIL platform Basepath. The strategic acquisition will enhance Teamworks network, reaching approximately 90% of NIL transactions across Division 1 collegiate athletes. Basepath’s tech and portfolio of 75 clients will be integrated into Teamworks ecosystem. Basepath capabilities include software aimed at enhancing efficiency across contract signatures, compliance and financial management, making it a comprehensive addition in serving student athletes and athletic programs alike. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Teamworks, founded in 2004, has made a strong name in the sports tech space, raising $165m so far, including a $65m round last year. About half of Teamworks' revenue comes via NCAA athletic departments and they work with dozens of pro teams across major & minor leagues as well. NIL has been big news in last few years with college athletes now able to profit off their likenesses - strategic play by Teamworks to acquire into the path of a major market shift.
IRIS Software Group publicizes intent to purchase Dext Software
Overview: IRIS Software Group, a leading provider of accounting, education management and HR software has announced plans to acquire Dext Software. The deal will involve the merging of two cloud based platforms: IRIS Elements and Dext’s AI Bookkeeping Automation Platform, to deliver a complete suite of tools to accountants and businesses. The combined entity, through a cloud based platform will create a single, end to end view of the accountancy workflow. This will increase efficiency and allow for effortless data sharing for businesses. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Synergistic deal here which will combine Iris’ practice management functionalities with Dext’s AI-driven bookkeeping automations. Another example of a major incumbent acquiring AI functionalities - IRIS has been serving accountants for more than 45 years, while Dext has trained LLMs on more than 1 billion receipts & invoices to achieve >99% accuracy on extraction of financial data.
Volaris completes a deal for digital asset management company, Orkis
Overview: Volaris, a subsidiary of Constellation Software, has completed a deal for French digital asset management software company, Orkis. Orkis is recognized for its flagship platform, Ajaris, which has been utilized by the French government. Ajaris is a full web suite supported by AI that delivers digital asset management for pictures, videos and audio. The integration is expected to enhance Volaris' ability to provide customers with solutions that optimize the organization and accessibility of digital assets. Read more here.
Climb Comment: The Digital Asset Management, or DAM, space is unique in that it blends martech with infrastructure. DAM is the platform organizations use to store and manage digital assets - brand files, logos, fonts, images, video, collateral, and more - and so there is an inherent stickiness as TBs of files begin to accumulate in the platform. Orkis maintains on-prem installations in certain segments, a model that CSU tends to be quite comfortable with. As an aside interesting to see Constellation making acquisitions in France - traditionally a tough geo for them due to labor regulations.
Uniphore acquires AI-driven companies Infoworks and ActionIQ
Overview: Uniphore, a leading enterprise AI company, has acquired ActionIQ and Infoworks to enhance its AI capabilities and introduce a Zero Data AI Cloud. This new and unique platform addresses challenges in AI adoption, such as data access, accuracy, and sovereignty. ActionIQ's zero-copy data platform facilitates seamless data connection and AI readiness without extensive integration efforts. Infoworks offers an enterprise data platform with AI data agents that autonomously manage data discovery, organization, and cleansing. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Two material acquisitions that add to Uniphore’s ability to offer a ‘Zero Data AI Cloud’ - in effect a ‘cloud twin’ of an organizations enterprise data environment which enables the training of bespoke LLMs without heavy integration/data transfer work and with lightened compliance/security risk. A more technical explanation is available here - worth a read. Uniphore has been a pioneer in conversational intelligence in the call center, these acquisitions help them broaden the aperture towards being a business focused on Enterprise AI beyond any specific vertical or functionality.
Bensussen Deutsch & Associates has acquired SaaS company SwagUp
Overview: Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BDA),a global merchandising agency, has acquired SwagUp, a New Jersey based promotional products and software company. SwagUp's SaaS platform refines the creation, management, and distribution of branded merchandise and serves clients such as Nasdaq, Logitech, and Northrop Grumman. This strategic acquisition enhances BDA's technological capabilities, enabling the company to offer expanded merchandise solutions to its extensive clientele, which includes Fortune 1000 companies and major sports leagues. Read more here.
Climb Comment: With more than 40 years providing custom branded corporate merchandise, BDA has made a name as the agency to call for quality promotional branding. Here they expand tech & self-service capabilities with the acquisition of SwagUp. SwagUp offers a drag & drop style merchandise creation tool as well as a robust back-end that automates fulfillment, delivery and other assorted logistics. Great addition to the BDA platform and always exciting to see large agencies acquiring software platforms.
Article of the week
Great read from Scott Management here re: serial acquirers - helpful frameworks around the ways different acquirers think about valuation, growth, and integration. Quote from the article which sums up capital allocation quite nicely —
We are continually faced with five choices: invest in existing operations for future growth, acquire or start new businesses, pay down debt, pay dividends, or repurchase stock... We intend to invest our capital in businesses that will generate positive cash flow, grow profitably over time, and hit the appropriate risk-adjusted returns on our invested capital. If we can’t accomplish those goals, we will either wait until we can, or return capital to our shareholders in the form of dividends and stock repurchases.
-Jeff Noordhoek, CEO of Nelnet
Thanks for following along & hope you found something useful or interesting. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re considering a sale as we move towards 2025 - we’re always glad to chat & share perspective.
All the best,
Nick