New York-based Harvest Partners LP is making “a substantial strategic investment” in MRI Software through funds it manages, according to a news release.
Harvest Partners joins existing investors TA Associates and GI Partners as institutional shareholders in MRI. At the same time, TA Associates is also making a significant new investment in the business. These investments are expected to enable MRI to bolster innovation across its end-to-end offering, accelerate growth, extend its global footprint and deliver on its mission to create an open technology environment for the real estate industry.
“Harvest is an experienced investor with a long-term perspective that will help MRI continue to meet the growing and evolving needs of our clients, innovate our software portfolio and provide world-class global service,” MRI Software CEO Patrick Ghilani said in a statement. “We believe the added capital will further the development of our comprehensive software portfolio and allow for strategic add-on acquisitions to meet the needs of a rapidly changing market. Our management team is invigorated to continue our mission in this new decade with the support of these three experienced investors.”
MRI has more than 8,500 enterprise clients, representing over two million users, who rely on the company’s applications to run their daily real estate operations. MRI has experienced unprecedented growth over the last three years, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, resulting in a more than tripling of the size of the business. Over the same timeframe, the number of MRI employees has more than doubled to 1,450.
MRI has significantly expanded its global footprint with major strategic acquisitions in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia. The company has also made key acquisitions that strengthen its product offering and capacity for future innovation. The company now serves clients in more than 170 countries from 30 locations around the world, including Cleveland, Atlanta, Boston, Toronto, London, Cape Town, Singapore, and Sydney.
Andrew Schoenthal, partner at Harvest Partners, added: “We could not be more excited to support MRI on the next phase of their journey. We have watched MRI’s success over the years and are pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of it. We look forward to partnering with management, TA Associates and GI Partners to continue to build the leading provider of real estate software solutions globally.”
TA Associates, GI Partners and Harvest Partners will have equal representation on the MRI Board of Directors. UBS is acting as the exclusive financial adviser and Kirkland & Ellis and Goodwin Procter are acting as legal advisers to MRI Software, GI Partners and TA Associates during the transaction. White & Case is acting as legal adviser to Harvest Partners.
