Insight and Lightyear Lead Management Buyout of Realm Business Solutions
03.22.2006
NEW YORK, NY (March 22, 2006) – Insight Venture Partners, LLC (“Insight”), a private equity firm focused on software and Internet services, and Lightyear Capital, LLC (“Lightyear”), a private equity firm focused on financial services including financial technology, announced today the acquisition of all of the capital stock of Realm Business Solutions, Inc. (“Realm”). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Realm is a leading international software solutions provider to the commercial real estate industry. Realm’s flagship products are used in 40 countries by over 8,000 customers and include ARGUS, the industry standard for real estate asset valuation, DYNA, a premier software solution for portfolio management and forecasting, and CTI, the leading property management accounting system.
“Realm’s foremost market position and significant growth potential make it an ideal investment for Lightyear,” said Donald B. Marron, chairman and chief executive officer of Lightyear. “The Company’s leading products, broad customer base and recurring revenue business model fit with our strategy of pursuing attractive opportunities in financial technology."
Stewart Gross, managing director of Lightyear added, “The combination of Lightyear's financial market expertise and deep operating experience and Insight’s software expertise and value-add consulting will help accelerate Realm’s growth We view the Company as a platform to grow internationally and through acquisitions of other real estate software and information products.”
Peter Sobiloff, managing director at Insight stated, “We see a significant opportunity to expand Realm’s operations to serve new markets in Asia and Europe, building off the strong reputation and leadership Realm has achieved in the United States. The fragmented global market for real estate asset management and valuation software provides Realm with a unique opportunity to position ARGUS as a global industry standard. We look forward to working closely with Realm’s management to achieve the Company’s potential.”
Mark Kingston, newly appointed CEO of the Company, commented, “This is an exciting new chapter for Realm. Insight’s and Lightyear’s keen understanding of our business and close working relationships with their portfolio companies makes them natural partners as we look to the future. We are eager to continue Realm’s history of profitable growth and execute our strategy to become the leading provider of real estate software globally.”
Realm’s management team received financial advice from Sparring Partners who also arranged the equity and debt financing. Insight was represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Lightyear.
ABOUT INSIGHT VENTURE PARTNERS
With over $1.5 billion under management, Insight Venture Partners is the leading venture capital firm specializing in software and Internet services. Insight Venture Partners invests in entrepreneurial companies developing technology-based solutions for businesses and consumers. Headquartered in New York, Insight has taken a global approach to investing in a market where experience, value-add consulting and the ability to execute are the foundations of success.
For more information, please visit www.insightpartners.com.
ABOUT LIGHTYEAR CAPITAL
Lightyear is a private equity investment firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. Based in New York, Lightyear, through its affiliated funds, has managed approximately $3 billion of committed capital with investments across the financial services spectrum, including asset management, banking, brokerage, financial technology, insurance, leasing and related business services, and other sectors within financial services. Lightyear brings unique strengths and discipline to its investment process, as well as operating, transaction, and strategic management experience, along with significant contacts and resources beyond capital. The senior team of professionals has an average of 20 years of financial services-related experience and includes David Glenn, Stewart Gross, Donald Marron, Richard Sterne, and Mark Vassallo.
For more information, please visit www.lycap.com.
ABOUT REALM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Realm Business Solutions provides software and services that enable its customers to better manage the financial and operational performance of their real estate portfolios. More than 8,000 of the industry's leading owners, managers, financial institutions and REITs trust Realm's solutions to improve the visibility and flow of information throughout their critical business processes. Realm is the developer of such industry standard products as ARGUS, DYNA, and CTI.
Visit Realm's website to learn more about these solutions, as well as reXML, the open source language for exchanging data between Realm and other applications: www.realm.com.
CONTACTS:
Insight Venture Partners, LLC
Ryan Hinkle
212-230-9200
Realm Business Solutions, Inc.
Jennifer Andrade
713-341-3630