Robert Ambrogi Blog
I am running out the door, but this news just broke. Here is the unedited announcement:
KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that a fund managed by KKR has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Agiloft (“the Company”), a trusted global leader in data-first contract lifecycle management (“CLM”). As part of the transaction FTV Capital, a sector-focused growth equity firm and an existing investor in Agiloft, will make an additional investment in the Company, and JMI Equity, a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading software companies, will join as a new investor in the Company. The investment will help the Company continue to expand as it grows market share, acquires new customers, further innovates product solutions, and extends its world-class standard of customer success.
Agiloft is a leading provider of data-first CLM software, enabling legal, procurement, sales and other departments to streamline and leverage their contracting efforts. Agiloft acts as a system of record and provides its customers a global view of all their contracts across all phases, including contract approval, storage, and pre- and post-signature processes and performance. The Company’s flexible platform allows Agiloft to handle significant complexity, serve a wide range of business needs, and integrate with other software systems, resulting in increased efficiencies and improved operational outcomes.
“I am enormously proud and humbled by what we have been able to accomplish at Agiloft. While the business has grown significantly, we have always focused on and maintained our number one differentiator: customer satisfaction and retention, which is predicated on our uniquely agile solution, reliable implementation success, and human-centric approach to contracting,” said Eric Laughlin, CEO of Agiloft. “This new investment from KKR and JMI Equity and continued support from FTV Capital serve as a testament to the caliber of our team’s ability to provide and deliver differentiated world-class products and services to our customers.”
“As businesses increasingly look for efficient ways to ensure regulatory compliance, realize cost efficiencies and manage complex workflows, Agiloft has differentiated itself by providing a simple, one-stop solution to meet its customers’ needs,” said Jimmy Miele, Director, Tech Growth at KKR. “We are deeply impressed by Eric’s leadership and the rest of the Agiloft team, and we look forward to working together to capture additional opportunities in the market.”
“Since FTV’s initial investment in 2020, Agiloft has driven impressive growth by delivering a truly unique no-code platform to a quickly growing customer base globally,” said Alex Mason, Partner at FTV Capital. “The CLM market, while still young, represents a multi-billion dollar opportunity, and we look forward to working with KKR as we continue to support Agiloft in fueling expansion and sustaining its notable leadership in workflow automation.”
As part of the transaction, KKR, JMI Equity and FTV Capital will support Agiloft in implementing a broad-based employee ownership program to allow all of its employees to have the opportunity to participate in the benefits of ownership of the Company. This strategy is based on the belief that employee engagement is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since 2011, KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars in equity to over 100,000 non-senior management employees across more than 40 portfolio companies.
KKR is making the investment through its Next Generation Technology III Fund. Agiloft adds to KKR’s global portfolio of technology and software investments, which includes OneStream, o9, OutSystems, ReliaQuest (also an FTV Capital portfolio company), RainFocus and Restaurant365.
Moelis & Company LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Agiloft. Baker McKenzie served as legal advisor to Agiloft. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to KKR.