CPE News (11/8/2021) – Vertu Capital, along with co-investors BDC Capital, private equity funds managed by BMO Global Asset Management, and Nicola Wealth, has made a significant investment (recapitalization) in PathFactory Inc. Financial details were not disclosed.
Vertu’s Lisa Melchior and Rick Huff, have joined Rick Huff, Managing Partner of Huff Capital and Dev Ganesan, President and CEO of PathFactory on PathFactory board of directors.
Toronto based PathFactory, formerly LookBookHQ Inc., is a leading intelligent content platform for B2B digital marketing.
PathFactory has previously raised US $15 million in Series A and B round of financing from Edison Partners, Hyde Park Venture Partners and Huff Capital Inc.
Edison Partners and Hyde Park Venture Partners will continue to maintain minority stakes and no information if PathFactory co-founder Mark Opauszky has been bought out.
PathFactory is Vertu Capital’s second recap transaction. In April 2021, Vertu Capital led a $60 million minority recapitalization with participation of Ubicom Ventures Ltd., a special purpose investment entity in partnership with Dejero management.
photo credit: PathFactory
News Release
Vertu Capital Announces Investment in PathFactory
Vertu exceeds $300 million in total transacted deal value year-to-date
TORONTO, Nov. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – Vertu Capital, a private equity firm that invests in high potential, Canadian-headquartered global enterprise software companies, is pleased to announce a significant investment in PathFactory, a leading intelligent content platform for B2B digital marketing.
The acquisition is the third transaction for Vertu Capital so far this year, highlighting Vertu’s rapid growth and proven formula for pre-emptively identifying attractive technology investment opportunities and quickly delivering a significant return to investors and partner companies. The PathFactory acquisition brings Vertu’s total transacted deal value to more than $300 million year-to-date.
Over the course of 2021, Vertu has achieved the following milestones:
Acquired a majority stake in PathFactory in November
Completed the strategic sale of Firmex, a global provider of virtual data rooms, in July
Acquired a minority stake in Dejero, a leading global provider of critical communications technology, in April
Launched Vertu Partners Fund I, in March
Expanded its Investment Team and added to its roster of seasoned Operating Advisors, with the most recent addition of Jason Smith, Founder and Executive Chair of Real Matters, a real estate software company
“It has been an incredible year for Vertu, and the momentum is only growing. We launched Vertu with a very focused investment thesis and a belief that private equity investing could be done differently, and better. And we have delivered on that”, said Lisa Melchior, Managing Partner and Founder of Vertu Capital. “We’re in a technology super cycle, and it’s easy to deploy capital. What we do is leverage our deep domain expertise and extensive network to surface exceptional opportunities and invest with discipline. We bring a culture of integrity and true collaboration that appeals to high performance management teams, drives a step change in outcomes at our partner companies and delivers value quickly to our investors.”
“PathFactory is a classic Vertu investment,” added Melchior. “It is positioned to be a clear category winner in B2B digital marketing and content intelligence, a sector that has become mission critical for businesses since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an acceleration in marketing spend to digital content. With its proprietary content intelligence, automation and unique end-to-end platform, PathFactory’s scalable software allows it to do what no one else in the space is doing.”
PathFactory is a leading innovator in the B2B digital marketing space. Its proprietary intelligent content platform leverages artificial intelligence and data to drive personalized and relevant marketing content that delivers meaningful and measurable B2B sales and revenue. Recognized as one of North America’s Technology Fast 500 by Deloitte and a “Cool Vendor” by Gartner, PathFactory clients include Fortune 500 companies such as Cigna, Verizon, Oracle, Nvidia, Honeywell, Adobe, HP, and Cisco Systems.
“Intelligent content is all about delivering the right content, to the right people, at the right time, and being able to do that at scale. It’s fundamentally about anticipating future needs in an intelligent and data-driven way,” said Dev Ganesan, President and CEO of PathFactory. “That is exactly what Vertu brings as our new lead investor and why we decided to partner with them. With their deep understanding of the platform, and proven ability to scale, they are the right partners at the right time to accelerate our growth potential.”
Alongside Vertu Capital, additional co-investors in PathFactory include BDC Capital, private equity funds managed by BMO Global Asset Management, and Nicola Wealth.
About Vertu Capital
Vertu Capital is a private equity firm that invests in high potential, Canadian-headquartered global technology companies. Vertu partners with the management teams of market leading and scaling companies to accelerate and support the next stage in their growth strategy. Founded by Lisa Melchior, former Managing Director with OMERS Private Equity, Vertu’s partners have decades of global tech private equity experience with deep domain expertise in software and software enabled business models. Vertu’s team brings sector best practice, actionable value creation strategies and a deep network to optimize company performance through all phases of growth. For more information, please visit www.vertucapital.ca.
About PathFactory
Leading enterprise and mid-market B2B companies use PathFactory’s Intelligent Content Platform to accelerate nurture, improve win rates, and understand content performance by delivering intelligent content experiences and virtual events across the buyer’s journey. PathFactory was named the inaugural Visionary CX ISV Partner of the Year award winner at the 2020 Oracle Markie Awards, recognized by Deloitte as one of North America’s Technology Fast 500, and ranked #13 on the 2020 Growth List of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. It was also named a Fall 2021 Content Experience Leader by G2, a 2019-2021 Top-Rated Content Marketing Software by TrustRadius, and a 2019 Cool Vendor in Technology Marketing by Gartner. Visit PathFactory.com to learn more.
SOURCE VERTU Capital