Advent International, a global private equity investment firm, has acquired a majority stake in Syspro, a longtime provider of ERP systems.
The transaction is expected to close in late Q3 pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed. Syspro, based in the U.K., but with U.S. offices in Tustin, California, employs 400 people globally.
As part of the transaction, Mike Ettling, an experienced software business leader who was previously president of SAP SuccessFactors and currently CEO of Unit4, will join Syspro as chairman of the board. Jaco Maritz, who was appointed CEO of Syspro in 2022, will continue to lead the company.
Syspro also announced that its co-founder and executive chairman, Phil Duff, is retiring after 46 years at the company. Following the transaction, Duff will retire from the company at the end of September. He has been the visionary at the helm of Syspro since he started the business. Under his stewardship, Syspro has grown into a global business that provides customers with critical software to manage and run their businesses more efficiently.
"I have been at the helm of Syspro for 46 years and have worked with incredible teams of people, customers and partners across the globe," Duff said in a statement Tuesday. "As the company enters a new era, I'm confident Advent can foster continued growth and innovation."
Douglas Hallstrom, director at Advent International, said, in a statement, "We have been following Syspro for some time and are delighted to support the company into a new phase of ambitious innovation and growth acceleration."
The transaction will accelerate Syspro's global growth ambitions, through investment to support next generation product and technology innovation to unlock growth opportunities in key markets, including the U.S. and U.K.
Advent has invested in other ERP, financial and manufacturing software companies. Recent investments in the sector include Aareon, a European provider of Software-as-a-Service solutions for the property industry; Unit4, a global cloud ERP software vendor; Medius, an AP automation, B2B payments, sourcing and procurement software provider; and Prometheus Group, a global provider of enterprise asset management software. In addition to a 34 year track record in technology investing, Advent has invested $21 billion in the manufacturing and industrial sector globally in the last 33 years.
Torch Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser to Syspro on the transaction.
