Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group is to sell ITRS to funds managed by private equity firm TA Associates.
Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in April 2017, have not been disclosed.
ITRS is an international software vendor to the financial services sector, offering real-time monitoring and analytics software. The company provides solutions to transform masses of business and machine data into actionable insights, supporting better systems and business performance.
ITRS serves more than 170 global clients, including nine out of the top 10 investment banks, as well as exchanges and trading venues, hedge funds, and brokers and vendors. ITRS currently employs 180 people in the UK, New York, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Spain.
Since making its investment in September 2011 through Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II (CETP II), Carlyle has worked closely with the ITRS management team on a number of strategic initiatives. The company has evolved from its founder-led heritage into an organisation with an experienced leadership team operating across multiple geographies and business sectors.
Led by Guy Warren, CEO, the management team increased ITRS’s market penetration from its traditional base in capital markets to other financial services markets, including hedge funds, and exchanges and trading platforms.
Warren says: “Carlyle has provided strategic guidance and support for the development of our current revenue models, which are now increasingly sustainable and recurring. They also supported our evolution from offering heritage data monitoring products to our new state-of-the-art data analytics tools. Carlyle guided ITRS into new markets across the financial services sector and helped position us for this next exciting phase of growth and expansion with TA Associates. We welcome TA as an investor and look forward to leveraging the firm’s industry knowledge, experience and global resources.”
Fernando Chueca, managing director, Carlyle Europe Technology Partners team, says: “Our investment in ITRS has enabled us to showcase the expertise we offer to high growth technology-led businesses. Guy has nurtured a talented leadership team, which we believe has performed exceptionally well over the past five years. We thank them and all ITRS employees for their commitment to the innovation and excellence that are hallmarks of ITRS today.”
J Morgan Seigler, a managing director at TA Associates, says: “As one of the leading providers of performance monitoring tools to the financial services sector, ITRS is a highly attractive investment for TA Associates. The company has experienced accelerating growth in a market we believe will continue to offer additional new business opportunities. We look forward to supporting Guy and his team as they continue to grow ITRS's footprint globally, both with ITRS Geneos and their exciting new product, ITRS Insights.”
This is the sixth exit for CETP II, a 2008 vintage fund. William Blair is financial adviser and Travers is legal adviser to ITRS. Goodwin is legal adviser to TA Associates.
