08/11/2021
Austin, Texas — Parthenon Capital (“Parthenon”), a leading growth-oriented private equity firm, announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to sell Periscope Holdings, Inc. (“Periscope”) to mdf commerce inc. (“mdf commerce”). The transaction will create an eProcurement leader in North America and enable the opportunity to offer Periscope’s eProcurement solutions to mdf commerce’s existing Canadian and U.S. government agency customers. The transaction values Periscope at $207.3 million and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Periscope transforms public sector procurement with technology and solutions exclusively for public sector buyers and suppliers. Driven by a purpose to eradicate waste and maximize the value of every dollar spent, Periscope Holdings is trusted by 500,000 suppliers and powers more U.S. government eProcurement systems than any other eProcurement provider.
“Today marks an important milestone in the history of Periscope since I co-founded the company in 2001,” said Brian Utley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Periscope. “This transaction represents the culmination of years of progress towards transforming the public eProcurement industry. Since 2014, Parthenon Capital has been a true partner to us throughout this journey. We are grateful for the invaluable support they have provided along the way, and it has been a pleasure working with such a dedicated and strategic team.”
Zach Sadek, Partner at Parthenon Capital, said, “We believe that Periscope is a great strategic fit for mdf commerce and are pleased to participate in the upside potential as a new shareholder of mdf commerce going forward. We are appreciative of our successful seven-year partnership with Brian Utley and the entire Periscope team and are excited to see them continue to support their customers and bring value to every dollar spent.”
Brian Golson, Managing Partner and Co-CEO at Parthenon, added, “In partnership with management, we saw an opportunity to launch a self-funded, transaction fee model that better met the public sector’s needs – but previously didn’t exist in the market. Since launch, that offering has been a significant contributor to the Company’s growth and we are extraordinarily proud of the team’s ability to execute on our shared strategic vision. It has been a pleasure working with Brian, Chris, David, Brittany, Kyle, and the entire Periscope team.”
Stephens Inc. is the exclusive financial advisor to Periscope. Periscope received legal advice from Jackson Walker LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.
Scotiabank acted as exclusive financial advisor to mdf commerce on the acquisition, as sole bookrunner and co-lead manager on the public offering and as sole placement agent on the concurrent private placement. Legal advice to mdf commerce is being provided by McCarthy Tétrault LLP with respect to Canadian law, and by Foley & Lardner LLP with respect to U.S. law.
About Periscope Holdings, Inc.
Periscope is a leading eProcurement solution provider with over 20 years of industry experience that offers a fully integrated, end-to-end procurement solution to both state and local government agencies and suppliers in the U.S. Periscope’s end-to-end eProcurement solution is built specifically for U.S. government agencies, allowing them to more efficiently purchase goods and services, source contracts, analyze spend, post bids and transact on a public procurement platform that offers a consumer-like shopping experience. For more information, visit www.periscopeholdings.com.
About Parthenon Capital
Parthenon Capital Partners is a leading mid-market private equity firm with offices in Boston, San Francisco and Austin. Parthenon utilizes niche industry expertise and a deep execution team to invest in growth companies in service and technology industries. Parthenon seeks to be an active and aligned partner to management, either through recapitalization transactions or by backing new executives. Parthenon has particular expertise in financial and insurance services, healthcare and business services, but seeks any service, technology or delivery business with a strong value proposition and proprietary know-how. For more information, visit www.parthenoncapital.com.
About mdf commerce inc.
mdf commerce inc. (TSX: MDF) enables the flow of commerce by providing a broad set of SaaS solutions that optimize and accelerate commercial interactions between buyers and sellers. Our platforms and services empower businesses around the world, allowing them to generate billions of dollars in transactions on an annual basis. Our Strategic Sourcing, Unified Commerce and emarketplace platforms are supported by a strong and dedicated team of approximately 700 employees based in Canada, the United States, Denmark, Ukraine and China. For more information, please visit us at mdfcommerce.com, follow us on LinkedIn or call at 1-877-677-9088.