Host Analytics to be Acquired by Vector Capital
Craig Schiff , President and CEO, BPM Partners
Note: Includes updated information (1/2/19)
Overview
Host Analytics has announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Vector Capital, a leading private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses. The deal has now officially closed. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Why This Deal?
Demand for performance management solutions is growing but at the same time the vendor landscape is undergoing significant changes. Adaptive Insights was acquired by Workday earlier this year, Anaplan has become a public company, the larger vendors are in the midst of a multi-year transition from their legacy on premise solutions to brand new cloud offerings. Vendors that had been targeting the midmarket are looking to move upstream. Even long established performance management implementation firms such as TopDown Consulting and Edgewater Ranzal are being acquired. There is an opportunity here to take advantage of the uncertainty all of these changes create, particularly in the $ 250 million to $ 2 billion slice of the market.
What’s needed to fully exploit this opening? A capable management team, a competitive product set, and deep pockets. Host Analytics already has the right team and product, Vector Capital brings the deep pockets (as well as operational resources and expertise).
Working with a company like Vector Capital has unique benefits and avoids the pitfalls of merging with a larger software company. Let’s start with the pitfalls. Whenever two software companies merge there are a number of inherent challenges – overlap in management, overlap in products, years of product integration work. The management overlap often leads to key team member departures, the product overlap leads to some products being killed or refocused, and the years of integration work often detract from product innovation and expansion of functionality. All of this negatively impacts sales, customer satisfaction, and morale. A key benefit of a venture firm owner is the enhanced ability to find and acquire complementary solutions. The acquisition of performance management vendor Longview Solutions by Marlin Equity several years back illustrates this fairly well. Soon after their acquisition by Marlin, Longview acquired arcplan for BI/analytics and Tidemark for cloud-based planning. Host Analytics may now be able to accelerate its ability to deliver on its vision for the Office of the CFO.
Why Now?
While the timing of this deal certainly reflects the desire to take advantage of the opportunity in the market today, I’m sure there are other motivations as well. Perhaps some of the original investors/board members are ready for a change. This is a straightforward way to enable them to cash out and pursue other challenges. Board member rotation also benefits Host Analytics with new ideas being brought to the table. It is worth noting though that the largest shareholder, StarVest Partners, will remain a significant investor.
Final Thoughts
In spite of this deal, Host Analytics remains a picture of stability in a rapidly changing market. It will continue to be run as an independent business. Dave Kellogg, long-term CEO at Host, is being replaced on an interim basis by the current Chief Revenue Officer, and the interim CFO role will be filled by a Vector Capital VP. There are no other announced or anticipated management changes at this time. Host is following its existing product roadmap and continuing to roll out new updates and partnerships. Of course we need to see how this all plays out once the transition is complete, but on the surface it seems like a good deal for all concerned.
