Home / Deals / Advised Accel-KKR on the sale of its portfolio company, KANA Software, Inc., to Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) for $514 million

Advised Accel-KKR on the sale of its portfolio company, KANA Software, Inc., to Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) for $514 million
Jan 2014
acquired by
$514 million
  • Sector: Infrastructure Software & Cybersecurity; Application Software
  • Deal Type: Strategic Deals; Private Equity Deals
  • Engagement type: Sellside
  • Size: $514 million
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Arma Partners is pleased to announce that it has acted as financial advisor to Accel-KKR on the sale of its portfolio company, KANA Software, Inc., to Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) for $514.2 million. This assignment is the culmination of Arma Partners’ strategic advisory work with Accel-KKR and KANA Software to help shape and execute KANA Software’s acquisition strategy, which resulted in the successful acquisitions of Lagan Technologies in 2010 and Ciboodle Software in 2012, and further evidences Arma Partners’ deep domain knowledge and ability to help create strategic value through M&A.

KANA, based in Silicon Valley, California, is a leader in customer service solutions delivered both on-premise and in the cloud to approximately 900 global large enterprises and mid-market organizations.

Verint is a global leader in Actionable Intelligence® solutions, offering a portfolio of Enterprise Intelligence Solutions™ and Security Intelligence Solutions™ that help organizations Make Big Data Actionable™ through the ability to capture, analyze and act on large volumes of rich, complex and often underused information sources.

Accel‐KKR is a technology‐focused private equity firm with over $2.3 billion in capital under management. The firm focuses on middle market companies, providing capital for buyouts and growth investments across a range of opportunities including recapitalizations, divisional carve‐outs and going-private transactions.

The acquisition of KANA will allow Verint to offer global enterprises the ability to capture and manage cross-functional information around customer interactions, business processes and workforce performance to improve operational efficiency, reduce risk and enhance customer loyalty, while driving revenue performance.

– KANA Software develops CEM software solutions for businesses and government agencies

– Offers service experience software products through a broad portfolio of services including call center software, email response, live chat management, and social media monitoring and analytics

– Customers including high profile businesses such as Priceline.com, Eircom, Sprint, Xerox, Staples, 1-800-Flowers, and Sears

– Backed by Accel-KKR in 2009

– Verint Systems provides Actionable Intelligence solutions and value-added services worldwide

– Offers contact center management, customer survey creation, employee training and workforce management for businesses in a range of sectors globally. Also provides a range of physical security systems and software

– Verint Systems is listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker VRNT

– KANA’s CEM products, including contact center software, email and chat management, offer a complete and multi-channel solution, which is a growing necessity as competing contact center providers continue to expand into new communication channels to round out their platforms

– KANA’s products will increase Verint’s presence and strategy in CEM, allowing it to become a comprehensive, multi-channel player. Through the acquisition, Verint is expanding beyond the phone and its call-center software into new, emerging channels such as social networks and online chats

– Verint Systems and KANA’s customers and partners are highly complementary, and the two companies together combine big data intelligence with customer engagement software, making way for potential cross selling opportunities across multiple channels

– Arma Partners worked with Accel-KKR (AKKR) and KANA over a 4 year period to help transform the Company into a leading global CEM vendor through numerous transactions

– Arma helped AKKR and the Company plan and execute a proactive acquisition strategy, identifying and evaluating numerous acquisition opportunities

– Arma advised KANA on their two most meaningful and transformative transactions: the acquisitions of Lagan Technologies in 2010 and Ciboodle in 2012 (divestiture of assets from the Sword Group)

– Arma’s initiatives culminated in the sale of KANA to Verint for $514 million, creating significant shareholder value for AKKR and a multiple times return on capital

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