Clearwater advises Kirona on its sale to Advanced

Transaction

Livingbridge sold Kirona to Advanced

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Role

Adviser to Livingbridge on the sale of Kirona to Advanced

Sector

Tech & Tech Services

Region

United Kingdom

Clearwater has advised specialist workforce management and resource scheduling software provider Kirona on its sale from private equity firms Livingbridge and LDC to Advanced, a provider of business software and services backed by US-based investment firm Vista Equity Partners.

Kirona delivers a full range of workforce management software, from task planning and resource scheduling, right through to workflow and analytics tools and support services. Its solutions drive the productivity and effectiveness of an organisation’s field-based workforce. Its product portfolio also integrates with other IT systems such as finance and HR which means that, along with its strong vertical expertise, Kirona is highly complementary to Advanced.

Advanced is one of the UK's largest and fastest growing software companies, providing enterprise and market focused solutions allowing customers to drive efficiencies, savings and growth opportunities through right-first-time software solutions. The transaction further strengthens Advanced’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) offering, by extending its Human Capital Management (HCM) capabilities for public, private, and health & care organisations. Advanced will be able to harness the Kirona team’s extensive experience, talent, skills and network to extend its ERP offering to its combined 16,500 UK customers.

This is the fourth transaction in which Clearwater has advised Kirona, having first advised on its MBO supported by LDC in 2011, followed by its acquisition of Xmbrace in 2012, and subsequently advising on its secondary buy-out backed by Livingbridge in 2014.

We are extremely proud of the business we have built based on innovation and strong customer delivery. The acquisition by Advanced is extremely complementary and represents a huge opportunity for us to combine our industry expertise and skills to drive significant growth. It was a pleasure to work with the Clearwater team again. Their knowledge and experience of both the market and our business was invaluable. Their advice on deal strategy through to seamless execution was the major contributing factor in the deal completing less than five days after agreeing acceptable headline terms. A great result for all!
David Murray, CEO, Kirona

It’s been great to work with David, Neil and the team at Kirona since our original investment in 2014. We are really proud of the progress Kirona has made in reinforcing its position as a clear market leader in the sector. We look forward to seeing their growth trajectory continue over the coming years. The Clearwater team excelled from start to finish. From setting out a clear and highly thoughtful approach to the transaction at the pitch, to then delivering the process with skill, speed and deal-craft, they ensured an outstanding result for all of Kirona’s stakeholders.
Pete Clarke, Partner, Livingbridge

Kirona continued its exciting development with Livingbridge’s support. Its current and roadmap products represent a strong strategic fit with Advanced, which should see the growth of the business accelerate. It was a pleasure working with Kirona’s outstanding management team and we wish them the best.
Wes Fell-Smith, Director, Clearwater