DENVER & MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--StarRez (the “Company”), a global leading provider of residential community and student housing software solutions, today announced it has received a significant strategic growth investment from Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses. StarRez and Vista will collaborate to accelerate StarRez’s global expansion and foster operational excellence to support sustainable growth, enhance the customer experience, and improve student and resident life globally.
“It’s been an amazing 30-year journey as a privately held family business. When my father founded StarRez nearly 30 years ago, his vision was simple: solving problems and empowering residential communities with technology,” said Travis Knipe, CEO of StarRez. “As we enter this new phase of growth, we are proud to partner with Vista, who believes in our vision and has the experience, resources and expertise to help us continue to grow as the leader for thriving residential communities.”
StarRez’s platform provides organizations with a scalable, secure solution to manage accommodations and engage residents. Founded in Australia in 1992, the Company has since expanded into the North American and European markets and today has over 800 customers in more than 20 countries worldwide.
StarRez’s industry-leading, proprietary platform and solutions cater to higher education, student property management, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), build to rent (BTR), co-living, staff housing, boarding schools and conferences and events. The Company is well-positioned within the growing student accommodation market, offering an intuitive cloud solution with a wide-range of housing-specific functionality to customers.
“As technology continues to transform student life and higher education and properties seek to create more engaging digital experiences for their communities, we see exceptional growth potential in StarRez as an industry leader and innovator,” said Patrick Severson, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Vista’s Foundation Fund. “We look forward to partnering with Travis and the StarRez team to accelerate growth and continue improving the lives of students and residents around the world.”
“StarRez’s commitment to connection, security and automation within communities will help drive their efforts forward as they look to further expand into new offerings and new markets,” commented Jake Hodgman, Managing Director at Vista. “We are excited to partner with the StarRez team on this new chapter of growth.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Houlihan Lokey acted as exclusive financial advisor to StarRez in connection with the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Allens served as legal counsel for Vista. For StarRez, Arnold Bloch Leibler served as legal counsel.
About StarRez
StarRez is the global market leader in student housing software and residential community management. Managing over 2.1 million beds, the platform positively impacts millions of users from around the world providing solutions to manage the resident experience, occupancy, revenue, allocations and more. We serve some of the most prestigious organizations in the world including Harvard University, Stanford University, National University of Singapore, University of London, Australian National University, Vail Ski Resorts (Staff Housing), iQ Student Accommodation (PBSA), Scape Living (PBSA) and 800+ more.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $86 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.
