Transaction marks K1's seventh exit of 2024
and will contribute to over $2.9
billion in enterprise value realized YTD
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., Oct. 28,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- K1 Investment Management, LLC
("K1"), one of the largest investors in small-cap enterprise
software companies, today announced that its portfolio company
Irwin, a leading provider of
investor relations (IR) and capital markets software, has entered
into a definitive agreement to be acquired by FactSet (NYSE: FDS |
NASDAQ: FDS), a global financial digital platform and enterprise
solutions provider. The transaction is expected to close in the
coming weeks and marks K1's second exit to a publicly traded
strategic buyer since the summer.
Since K1's initial investment in 2021, Irwin grew revenue by 4x by introducing new
products such as Irwin IQ, expanding into the European market, and
securing key partnerships with groups such as FactSet and New York
Stock Exchange. This growth has built upon Irwin's position as a leader in the investor
relations software market, becoming a trusted solution for
companies and their advisors to streamline investor engagement and
relationship management.
"We are proud to have been David
Whyte and Mark Fasken's lead
institutional shareholder and to have partnered with them on
Irwin's transformation of the IR
landscape," said Tarun Jain,
Principal at K1. "Our focus at K1 is to be the largest investor in
small, innovative, and rapidly growing software businesses
globally, and helping build them into category leaders that
transform their industries. The acquisition of Irwin by FactSet is a testament to the two
co-founders, the platform they built and the strength of the
partnership we had with them."
Irwin's solution is used by IR
professionals, who utilize the platform for investor targeting,
shareholder monitoring, relationship management, and engagement
analytics. The acquisition by FactSet will continue integrating
Irwin's investor relations
platform with FactSet's data, analytics, and research workflows,
aiming to offer corporate issuers and IR teams a unified,
end-to-end solution to manage their investor relations and capital
markets efforts.
"The investment from K1 and subsequent partnership were critical
for Irwin to scale as quickly as
we did," said David Whyte,
Co-Founder and CEO of Irwin. "K1's
strategic guidance and operational support – as well as their
domain experience in enterprise software – have been instrumental
in our growth trajectory and this ultimate sale to FactSet. We are
excited for this next chapter in our journey and are confident
Irwin will continue to see success
under FactSet's ownership."
The sale of Irwin marks K1's
seventh realization in 2024, and the third sale to a strategic
buyer this year. K1 has realized over $2.9
billion in enterprise value year-to-date through notable
exits including GoCanvas (sold to Nemetschek Group, FRA: NEM) and
Axcient (sold to ConnectWise, a Thoma
Bravo portfolio company).
About Irwin
Irwin empowers IR professionals with a
purpose-built investor relations and capital markets platform. Our
solutions integrate data and intelligent automation to streamline
how teams discover and connect with investors, monitor shareholder
changes, and manage every interaction. By centralizing data and
eliminating administrative tasks, Irwin seeks to free IR teams to focus on
strategic engagement and relationship building. Founded and
headquartered in Toronto, Canada,
Irwin serves a global community of
public companies and their advisors who rely on our solutions to
manage and enhance their investor relations programs.
For more information, visit www.getirwin.com or follow us
on LinkedIn.
About K1
K1 is one of the largest investors in
small-cap enterprise software companies. Headquartered in
Manhattan Beach, California, K1
partners with strong management teams of high-growth software
businesses, utilizing operationally-focused growth strategies to
scale portfolio companies. Dedicated to transforming industries and
driving productivity, K1 has collaborated with over 240 enterprise
software companies since inception.
K1's exclusive focus, driven by its single team, single office,
and single fund strategy, has resulted in realizations for many of
its portfolio companies. Examples include Apttus (sold to
Thoma Bravo), Axcient (sold to
Connectwise, backed by Thoma Bravo),
Buildium (sold to RealPage, NASDAQ: RP), Certent (sold to
insightsoftware, backed by TA Associates and Genstar), Checkmarx
(sold to Insight Partners and Hellman & Friedman), Clarizen
(sold to Planview, backed by TA Associates and TPG Capital), FMG
Suite (sold to Aurora Capital Partners), GoCanvas (sold to
Nemetschek Group, FRA: NEM), Granicus (sold to Vista Equity
Partners and Harvest Partners), Inthinc (sold to Orbcomm, NASDAQ:
ORBC), Litera (sold to Hg Capital), Rave Mobile Safety (sold to
TCV; now owned by Motorola Solutions, NYSE: MSI), TeamDynamix (sold
to Level Equity), Unified (now owned by iHeartMediam NASDAQ: IHRT),
WorkForce Software (sold to Insight Partners, now owned by ADP,
NASDAQ: ADP) and Zapproved (sold to Exterro, backed by Leeds
Equity).
For more information, visit k1.com and follow K1 Investment
Management on LinkedIn.
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SOURCE K1 Investment Management