Shares of Exact Holding stopped trading on March 31 as its purchase by Apax Partners kicked in. Presumably, we will start seeing some changes under the new owners. The fact Exact is no longer public is something that was obviously going to happen with the purchase. But it emphasizes the role of private equity in this market, shown by the number of news items in this newsletter that involve private equity ownership of business software.

Tax software companies Convey Compliance Systems, Taxware, and VAT Resource have become Sovos Compliance. This is one of those deals brought about by private equity. The convergence of the businesses began in December 2012 when Vista Equity Partners purchased Taxware and brought in Andy Hovancik as CEO. Taxware purchased VAT Resource a year ago and the merged Convey and Taxware during the summer. The combination brings together business that offer 1099 reporting, sales and use tax and value-added tax determination and compliance.

Intuit reseller AQB has changed its name to Fourlane. The Austin, Texas, based company said it made the move to eliminate any brand confusion by removing the QB initials from its name. “While offering QuickBooks consulting is still a large part of our business, establishing our new, independent name allows us to better distinguish ourselves and our services," CEO Marjorie Adams said in a prepared statement.