Ellerston Capital investee risk and compliance software company Camms has been acquired by US business Riskconnect, an investee of Boston-based technology-focused growth capital firm TA Associates.
South Australia-founded Camms said Riskconnect is the global leader in the integrated risk management technology space and joining forces with the Atlanta, Georgia, based company will enable its team to offer a more comprehensive range of products. Camms is a leading provider of enterprise cloud-based software for governance, risk and compliance.
According to Riskconnect, Camms’ software is unique in its ability to link risk to business objectives in a single platform.
Both Camms and Riskconnect products will now be offered by the Camms team which will initially trade as ‘a Riskconnect company’ with the brand likely to be absorbed into Riskconnect in the future.
Camms chief executive Adam Collins will continue to lead the Camms team as president and will answer to Riskconnect chief executive Jim Wetekamp.
Wetekamp said: “The two companies are very closely aligned on culture, market view and commitment to market success.”
The acquisition significantly enhances Riskconnect’s global footprint particularly in Australia, New Zealand and the broader Asia Pacific region.
Riskconnect has more than 2,500 customers and employs more than 1,100 professional staff.
Camms employs around 450 people in offices in the UK, North America and Asia as well as Australia. The company says its software has “tens of thousands of users”.
Ellerston Capital’s growth capital fund JAADE acquired a 35% stake in Camms in 2019, a transaction that valued the business at more than $50 million.
The current deal, which is believed to value Camms at around $100 million, will generate mainly cash returns to majority owner the Collins family and JAADE. The former Camms owners are believed to be taking a small equity stake in Riskconnect in the transaction.
The $394 million JAADE fund was established five years ago and recently acquired a minority stake in digital identity and verification business Data Zoo for $33 million. The fund also has investments in Mable, Phocas, Nitro (now alongside Potentia Capital), Prospecta, Azupay, Prospection and SiteMinder (ASX: SDR). JAADE partially exited its investment in SiteMinder in the company’s 2021 IPO.
Camms’ financial adviser on the sale of the business was investment bank Harris Williams while Kirkland & Ellis was legal adviser to Riskconnect.
Image: Charts generated by Camms risk and compliance software.