Gain insight that drives value—from pre-close diligence to a successful exit.

Realizing value in a complex, fast-evolving sector

High-tech/software investments continue to be a key focus for private equity investors. PitchBook reports that the tech sector comprises nearly 20 percent of overall U.S. private equity deal volume, with the number of add-on transactions growing particularly rapidly.

Given the competition for software assets and the pace at which technology is evolving, success depends on investors having the right insight at each step of the M&A lifecycle:

Diligence

Prior to acquisition, can your current team or partners provide you with a comprehensive view of the asset’s technology quality, scalability, risks, operational maturity, and OpEx/CapEx investments required?

Deal Execution

Are there complexities (such as a carveout or product organization merger) that require careful planning during the transaction?

Value Creation

Does the company’s CTO and leadership have the right strategy, team, and plan in place to execute on critical platform transformation initiatives (e.g., next-gen product development) during the hold period?

Exit Readiness

What is the platform strategy for future add-ons to gain market share, integrate products, and limit customer attrition? Do you have sufficient experience to advise the company and its leaders on preparing for exit?

A team that brings expertise to all stages of a software investment

Given the demand to produce high returns and frequently explore exit opportunities due to market performance and buyer interest, PE-backed software companies often find themselves pressured to rapidly execute on major technology initiatives. Whether a next-gen product build, cloud transformation, or platform integration, most software companies have a major initiative in-flight or on the near-term roadmap; even for savvy serial software investors, these initiatives often require a massive effort.

West Monroe’s expertise as a market leader in technology M&A and high-tech/software solutions provides PE investors and portfolio companies with a dedicated and cross-functional partner to execute on major technology initiatives. Over the past 10 years, our team has advised on over 500 software deals with leading middle market investors and led over 300 portfolio company initiatives.

West Monroe can help you: 

Complete thorough buy-side due diligence: Our “in the chair” ex-CTOs and software M&A advisors assess all aspects of a company’s product management and product development functions, including product roadmap, technical architecture, infrastructure, security, software operations, and the supporting functions (Product Management, Software Engineering, Implementation/Professional Services and Support). This provides buyers with a comprehensive picture of the business, upside opportunities, and major technology challenges to better enable you to negotiate a fair purchase price. Leverage our proprietary middle-market software company benchmarks to identify EBITDA improvement opportunities and also predict required OpEx/CapEx investments to support investment thesis goals.

Advise the management team post-close: Our team brings industry relevant experience in product strategy, next-gen platform roadmaps/delivery, large scale customer migrations, target operating model development, development/architectural advisory, and cybersecurity remediation efforts. Having a partner to drive these types of initiatives will help bring a new acquisition to a steady state as quickly as possible—to enable organic growth and a scalable platform to support add-on acquisitions. The vast majority of middle-market management teams do not have the experience or capacity to navigate a complex transaction.

Prepare for exit: Given our experience advising on hundreds of deals annually, we help investment bankers, PE sellers and software company management teams as they prepare for an upcoming sale process—with an eye toward avoiding value erosion during the transaction process. This includes spending several days advising the leadership team on how to articulate their technology story, proactively position the technology team to address value erosion concerns, and be prepared for the buyside diligence process.

Deliver on the investment thesis

When it comes to successful investing in the technology and software sector, expertise counts. West Monroe brings unique and proven capabilities to support each stage of your investment—enabling you to:

  • Negotiate wisely, based on comprehensive insights about your investment
  • Bring the acquisition to a secure, steady state as quickly as possible
  • Mature and transform technology and operations to deliver value during the hold period
  • Prepare for a successful exit
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