Blackstone Joins Clearlake and Insight in Backing Software Maker Diligent
August 04 2020 - 7:39PM
Dow Jones News
By Laura Cooper and Chris Cumming
Blackstone Group Inc. is joining investors in Diligent Corp. in
a deal that values the maker of corporate-governance software at
north of $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the
matter.
The largest portion of the roughly $500 million investment was
contributed by Clearlake Capital Group, which increased its
previous stake in the company, the person said. The remainder came
from Blackstone and some limited partners of Insight Partners, a
New York firm that remains Diligent's largest investor.
Diligent makes software that helps boards, committees and
leadership teams with secure communication and collaboration, and
has more than 19,000 clients. A software-as-a-service provider,
Diligent is expected to generate more than $350 million in 2020
revenue, according to the person.
Insight took Diligent private off the New Zealand stock exchange
for $624 million in 2016. Two years later, Diligent brought on
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Clearlake as a minority investor.
Blackstone's investment comes from the firm's opportunistic
investment arm, called Tactical Opportunities, which invests
flexibly across asset classes, sectors and regions.
The investment comes at a time of great appetite for software
investments by private-equity firms and the institutions that back
them. Limited partners have sought new investments in
technology-focused private-equity funds in part because of the
growth prospects of tech companies and the SaaS recurring-revenue
model used by many. Valuations in the sector have held up better
than most despite economic disruptions from the coronavirus
pandemic.
Private-equity funds focused on technology raised $30.1 billion
this year through July 6, the third-highest sum ever through that
period, despite a pandemic-related slowdown in private-equity
fundraising in general, according to data provider Preqin Ltd.
Insight and Clearlake have taken part in the fundraising boom,
with both firms collecting their largest funds yet this year.
Insight closed on $9.5 billion for its latest fund, and Clearlake
raised more than $7 billion for a vehicle designed to take
advantage of market disruptions.
Miriam Gottfried contributed to this article
Write to Laura Cooper at laura.cooper@wsj.com and Chris Cumming
at chris.cumming@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 04, 2020 19:24 ET (23:24 GMT)
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