The company's website notes it has offices in the U.K., U.S and India, but ... well, one of the goals of Vista should be to improve the navigation of the company's websites so information is easier to find. This deal is a good counterpoint to MYOB going public again, underscoring the important role private equity is playing in the accounting software business, although Advanced's lines are broader than that, including HR and payroll, supply chain management, document management, CRM and business intelligence. Advanced had revenue of about $314 million for the 12 months ended August 31. In a prepared statement, Vista president Brian Sheth, said his firm's goals are "contributing professional expertise, proven best practices, and management techniques that will help Advanced continue to deliver operational, product and service excellence." Vista's portfolio companies include Aptean, which markets the Ross ERP and Pivotal CRM lines, and managed services provider Autotask.
U.K. SOFTWARE GROUP GOES PRIVATE Featured
The Advanced Computer Software Group, a holding company based in the United Kingdom, has gone private. The company was purchased for about $1.1 billion at the end of March by Vista Equity Partners, whose goal is to make Advanced a global player. Advanced owns several business software companies, most of which do not operate in the United States. These include four financial software lines: e5, eFinancials, OpenAccounts and Exchequer. It also has V-1, a company that markets Professional Services Automation software, and Advanced 365, whose cloud and hosting services has some U.S. presence.
