Appfire's owners explore sale of stake in collaboration software maker, sources say

Docusign

16/08/2024 19:40

By Milana Vinn
       NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Investment firms TA
Associates and Silversmith Capital Partners are exploring
options including the sale of a stake in Appfire, in a deal that
could value the collaboration software maker they own at more
than $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
    TA and Silversmith have tapped investment bankers at
JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N  and Lazard  LAZ.N  as they weigh selling
up to a 60% stake in Appfire, the sources said, adding that the
owners could roll over a portion of their stakes as part of a
potential deal. 
    The sources, who requested anonymity as the discussions are
confidential, said potential buyers of the stake include other
private-equity firms. 
    Appfire is hoping to command a valuation equivalent to more
than 20 times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization of roughly $100 million, the sources said. The
company is expected to generate close to $300 million in revenue
for 2024, the sources said, adding it is growing revenues by 30%
annually. 
    Silversmith, JPMorgan, and Lazard declined to comment. TA
Associates and Appfire did not respond to requests for comment. 
    Burlington, Massachusetts-based Appfire provides workflow
collaboration software to customers, including German shoe and
sports apparel giant Adidas  ADSGn.DE , e-signature company
Docusign  DOCU.O , and NASA. 
    Its software applications are sold through platforms of
large technology corporations including Microsoft  MSFT.O ,
Salesforce  CRM.N , Atlassian  TEAM.O , and monday.com. 
    Smartsheet  SMAR.N , a U.S. maker of workplace collaboration
software with a market value of $6.6 billion, has tapped
investment bankers after attracting acquisition interest from
buyout firms, Reuters reported in July.
    TA picked up a significant stake in Appfire in 2021, a year
after Silversmith made a $49-million investment in the company. 

 (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Rod Nickel)
 ((Milana.Vinn@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @MilanaVinn; Reuters
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