Acquisition expands company’s solution portfolio to comprehensively
serve foundation and corporate giving markets
CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 2, 2014--
Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB),
a leading global provider of software and services for nonprofits, today
announced it has signed an agreement to acquire MicroEdge, LLC, an
innovative provider of mission-critical software solutions for the
philanthropic giving community worldwide. This acquisition
dramatically expands Blackbaud’s offerings in the philanthropic giving
sector with MicroEdge’s comprehensive technology solutions for
grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and foundation management.
This combination also positions the expanded Blackbaud business to
deliver innovation within its current customer base, as well as to
organizations that provide funding to support nonprofit missions.
Under the purchase agreement for the transaction, Blackbaud will acquire
all of the outstanding equity interests of MicroEdge for an aggregate
purchase price of $160 million. The closing of the transaction is
expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2014, subject to customary
closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the
applicable waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvement Act of 1976, as amended. Blackbaud expects to finance the
acquisition with cash on hand and borrowings under its existing credit
facility.
“We’re pleased to bring MicroEdge’s innovative solution set into the
Blackbaud portfolio of offerings,” said Blackbaud president and CEO Mike
Gianoni. “Combining our 33 years of research and development with
MicroEdge’s deep experience in these unique markets will position
Blackbaud to expand its total addressable market, while offering an
unprecedented set of technology solutions to address the needs of
funders, nonprofits and corporations.”
For nearly 30 years, MicroEdge has offered high-performance solutions
that help the giving community organize, simplify and measure their acts
of charitable giving. The company serves thousands of community,
education, independent, family, faith-based and other foundation clients
by offering extensive solutions for foundation and grants management.
MicroEdge has also recently entered the fast growing Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) market with an employee engagement platform that
supports employee giving, volunteerism, and other CSR initiatives.
“We’re enthusiastic about the potential for our clients and our team as
we join Blackbaud”, said MicroEdge CEO Kristin Nimsger. “Blackbaud has a
rich heritage of technology leadership in the nonprofit sector, and
MicroEdge is a leading provider of SaaS and software solutions for
foundations in the charitable giving community. There are no two
companies better positioned to connect these two segments of the market
together, to drive significantly greater efficiency and collaboration,
and to accelerate our goal of helping our mutual clients effectively
measure the outcomes of their work.”
Building on a renewed commitment to innovation made by Blackbaud
president and CEO, Mike Gianoni in March, the company intends to further
advance and extend the functionality of MicroEdge’s solutions. “This
acquisition creates a tremendous opportunity for Blackbaud to offer more
customers new innovation and end-to-end solutions to meet their needs,”
said Joe Moye, president of Blackbaud’s Enterprise Business Unit. “In
addition to partnering with new charitable foundation customers, we also
intend to extend MicroEdge’s Corporate Social Responsibility offerings
to help companies maximize their philanthropic impact through cutting
edge administration, reporting, employee engagement, and other
capabilities.”
MicroEdge is headquartered in New York, and is a portfolio company of
Vista Equity Partners and Bregal Sagemount.
About Blackbaud
Serving the nonprofit and education sectors for more than 30 years,
Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) combines technology and expertise to help
organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works with more than
30,000 customers in over 60 countries that support higher education,
healthcare, human services, arts and culture, faith, the environment,
private K12 education, animal welfare and other charitable causes. The
company offers a full spectrum of cloud-based and on-premise software
solutions and related services for organizations of all sizes including: fundraising,
eMarketing, advocacy,
constituent relationship management (CRM), financial
management, payment solutions, analytics,
education solutions and vertical-specific
solutions. Using Blackbaud technology, these organizations raise more
than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company by Forbes,
InformationWeek, and Software Magazine and honored by Best Places to
Work, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has
operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands,
Ireland and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.
About MicroEdge
Established in 1985, MicroEdge, LLC, is the leading provider of software
and services to the giving community worldwide. MicroEdge solutions
deliver a powerful, integrated, and open framework for efficient and
effective charitable giving. The company is committed to providing the
best technology toolset for foundations, corporations, government
agencies, donors, advisors and financial institutions. Together, these
tools help organizations to work with one another to raise, invest,
manage and award charitable currency. MicroEdge is headquartered in New
York City with regional offices throughout the U.S. and supports
thousands of clients worldwide. MicroEdge is part of the Vista Equity
Partners portfolio of software and technology-enabled companies. To
learn more about Vista Equity Partners, visit www.vistaequitypartners.com.
To learn more about MicroEdge, visit www.microedge.com.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista Equity Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm with offices in
Austin, Chicago and San Francisco, with approximately $13 billion in
cumulative capital commitments, currently invests in dynamic, successful
technology-based organizations led by world-class management teams with
long-term perspective. Vista is a value-added investor, contributing
professional expertise and multi-level support towards companies
realizing their full potential. Vista’s investment approach is anchored
by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring
technology-oriented transactions, and proven management techniques that
yield flexibility and opportunity in private equity investing. For more
information, please visit www.vistaequitypartners.com.
About Bregal Sagemount
Bregal Sagemount is a growth-focused private equity fund with $500
million in committed capital. Bregal Sagemount makes investments of $15
million to $150 million in market leaders in high growth segments. For
more information, please see www.bregalsagemount.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward looking statements that involve a
number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the
expected closing of the acquisition, as well as the expected benefits of
the acquisition to Blackbaud. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate
in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future
circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements
are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results
to differ materially include the following: general economic risks;
uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing
customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration
of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions;
risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated
software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel;
risks related to our dividend policy and share repurchase program,
including potential limitations on our ability to grow and the
possibility that we might discontinue payment of dividends; risks
relating to restrictions imposed by the credit facility; risks
associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation
cycles, particularly in larger organization; technological changes that
make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk
factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud,
copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov
or upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department. All
Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.
Source: Blackbaud, Inc.
Blackbaud, Inc.
Nicole McGougan, 843-654-3307
media@blackbaud.com
or
MicroEdge,
LLC
Kathy Krais, 646-237-3966
kkrais@microedge.com