M&A Deal Summary

Centerbridge Partners and Francisco Partners Acquire Acoustic

On April 4, 2019, asset manager Centerbridge Partners and private equity firm Francisco Partners acquired software company Acoustic from IBM

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Centerbridge Partners’ 4th and Francisco Partners’ 40th transaction in the Software sector.
  • This is Centerbridge Partners’ 29th and Francisco Partners’ 88th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Centerbridge Partners’ 1st and Francisco Partners’ 1st transaction in Arkansas.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2019-04-04
Target Acoustic
Sector Software
Buyer(s) Centerbridge Partners
Francisco Partners
Sellers(s) IBM
Deal Type Divestiture

Target

Acoustic

Conway, Arkansas, United States
Acoustic is a provider of marketing automation tools, marketing analytics, and an AI-powered content management system. Acoustic is based in Conway, Arkansas.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

Centerbridge Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Asset Manager
Founded 2005
PE ASSETS 38.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Centerbridge Partners is a mega-sized private equity firm focused primarily on distressed/special situations in North America and Europe. In addition to making control investments, Centerbridge also maintains funds for non-control credit investments. Centerbridge was formed in 2005 and is based in New York City.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 36 of 49
Sector (Software) 4 of 4
Type (Divestiture) 4 of 4
State (Arkansas) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 29 of 40
Year (2019) 2 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-04-01 Senvion

Hamburg, Germany

Senvion is a manufacturer of onshore and offshore wind turbines. Senvion is based in Hamburg, Germany.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-05-30 Reddy Ice Holdings

Dallas, Texas, United States

Reddy Ice Holdings, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of packaged ice in the United States. The Company sells its products primarily under the widely known Reddy Ice® brand to a variety of customers in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Reddy Ice provides a broad array of product offerings in the marketplace through traditional direct store delivery, warehouse programs, and its proprietary technology, The Ice Factory®.

Sell -
Buyer

Francisco Partners

San Francisco, California, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1999
PE ASSETS 45.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION
Francisco Partners' headquarters in San Francisco, California.
Francisco Partners' headquarters in San Francisco, California.

Francisco Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in technology and technology-enabled services. Specific areas of interest include semiconductors, capital equipment, electronics components, systems and manufacturing, IT services and business process outsourcing, communications, security and enterprise applications, and infrastructure software. Prospective investment situations include divisional buyouts, growth equity financings, acquisitions of private companies, sponsored mergers and acquisitions, and take-privates. Francisco Partners looks for opportunities where it can commit a minimum of $100 million per investment. Francisco Partners was formed in 1999 and is based in San Francisco, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 106 of 157
Sector (Software) 40 of 54
Type (Divestiture) 18 of 32
State (Arkansas) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 88 of 132
Year (2019) 4 of 9
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-04-03 EG

Ballerup, Denmark

EG is a software company with a suite of proprietary software solutions for the private and public sector. EG is based in Ballerup, Denmark.

Buy kr.3.7B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-04-25 PayScale

Seattle, Washington, United States

PayScale offers modern compensation software and the most precise, real-time, data-driven insights for employees and employers alike. PayScale was founded in 2002 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Buy $325M

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

IBM

Armonk, New York, United States

Category Company
Founded 1911
Sector Information Technology
Employees282,200
Revenue 61.9B USD (2023)
DESCRIPTION
Entrance to IBM's corporate headquarters in Armonk, New York.
Entrance to IBM's corporate headquarters in Armonk, New York.

IBM is a global provider of information technology products and services. IBM's products and services include IT infrastructure and business process services, cloud computing, business analytics, and enterprise software. IBM was formed in 1911 and is based in Armonk, New York.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 23 of 32
Sector (Software) 9 of 10
Type (Divestiture) 22 of 29
State (Arkansas) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 19 of 26
Year (2019) 1 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-12-06 International Business Machines - Software Products

Armonk, New York, United States

International Business Machines Corp. - Software Products in scope represent a total addressable market of more than $50 billion and includes, Appscan for secure application development, BigFix for secure device management, Unica (on-premise) for marketing automation, Commerce (on-premise) for omni-channel eCommerce, Portal (on-premise) for digital experience, Notes & Domino for email and low-code rapid application development, and Connections for workstream collaboration.

Sell $1.8B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-09-25 International Business Machines - Algorithmics Assets

Armonk, New York, United States

International Business Machines Corp. - Algorithmics Assets provides major risk analytic products and services for the financial services industry worldwide. Algorithmics’ solutions deliver the risk analytics clients need to address the impact of business and regulatory changes; including X-Value Adjustment (xVA), Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB), Standardized Approach for Counterparty Credit Risk (SA-CCR), Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) and Targeted Review of Internal Models (TRIM). Algorithmics’ cloud-based technology will integrate within SS&C’s platform and add micro-services.

Sell -