Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners has acquired AbacusNext, a cloud service provider (CSP) that supports small and midsize legal and accounting firms. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is deal number 171 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.
Thomas H. Lee (THL) bought the stake from PSG, a growth equity firm that partners with lower middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies.
THL Acquires AbacusNext
Founded in 1974, THL invests solely in the financial services, healthcare and technology and business solutions sectors. The company has completed more than 400 add-on acquisitions during that time.
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, AbacusNext provides vertical SaaS solutions for the professional services market. The company also provides cloud-based solutions for small and medium-sized legal and accounting firms.
Scott Johnson, CEO of AbacusNext, will continue to lead the company alongside other members of the company’s senior management team, the firm announced.
THL Acquires AbacusNext: Accelerated Investment In SaaS Products
Johnson commented on the deal:
“We are excited to partner with THL, who offers deep expertise in practice management software and payment processing and shares our commitment to driving AbacusNext’s next chapter of growth. This partnership with THL will enable us to accelerate our investment in innovative SaaS products with integrated payment processing, allowing us to continue to offer a market-leading software suite. Thank you to PSG for their support as we grew to become a leader in the legal and accounting markets.”
Mark Bean, director at THL and Ganesh Rao, managing director and head of financial services at THL, also commented:
“The shift to cloud-based software is well underway and has accelerated in the current ‘work from home’ environment. Scott and the management team at AbacusNext are leaders in capitalizing on this growth opportunity. We are excited to see AbacusNext continue to develop best-in-class technology and pursue strategic acquisitions that will further enhance their product offering.”
Matt Stone, managing director at PSG, said:
“Throughout our partnership together, AbacusNext has firmly established its position as a leading software solutions provider in the legal, accounting and compliance-focused professionals’ services market. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with AbacusNext and would like to thank their entire team, particularly CEO Scott Johnson, COO Rob Ellis and CFO Mike Skelly, for their dedication and hard work over our partnership together, and we’re excited to see what they will accomplish next.”
William Blair and Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as financial and legal advisors to AbacusNext in connection with the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to THL.
