BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accelya, a leading global provider of financial, commercial and analytics solutions to the airline and travel industry, today announced that it is being acquired by Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses. Vista’s investment in Accelya is the first made by the firm’s permanent capital investment fund Vista Equity Partners Perennial (“Perennial”), which is focused on growing industry-leading vertical software companies through long-term investments in product expansion and feature enhancement.
Accelya has been at the forefront of travel and transport for more than 40 years and provides solutions spanning the airline lifecycle encompassing financial, commercial and cargo and logistics processes to over 400 clients across the globe. Accelya’s mission-critical insights, solutions and services allow customers to stay at the leading-edge of industry change and provide scaled industry platforms that process more than 5 billion financial transactions annually.
John Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of Accelya, said, “Our clients count on us to deliver data-driven insights, efficiency and unrivaled value in a highly competitive industry, while also managing risk and compliance and delivering an excellent customer experience. Vista shares with us a long-term view and focus on product innovation that will allow us to accelerate the expansion of our solutions to propel our clients forward in the dynamic travel marketplace. On behalf of the team, I’d also like to thank Warburg Pincus for their valuable contribution and strategic insight over the years.”
Like Vista’s other investment strategies, Perennial invests in mission-critical, enterprise software businesses seeking to sustain market leadership and advance product innovation. The Perennial strategy is differentiated by its permanent capital structure which allows it to pursue longer-term value creation opportunities in partnership with companies and their management teams by providing both capital and expertise to accelerate their success.
“Accelya is at the forefront of innovation and positioned to shape the airline and travel industry for decades to come, making it an exceptional first investment for Vista’s Perennial Fund,” said Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista. “We look forward to working with John and the talented management team at Accelya to identify further opportunities for growth as they continue to serve the leading airlines, travel agents, and shippers across the world.”
Warburg Pincus will exit its partnership with Accelya upon its sale to Vista, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. In jurisdictions where it is required to do so, Vista will take appropriate steps to comply with any mandatory open offer requirements.
Adarsh Sarma and David Reis, Managing Directors of Warburg Pincus, added, “We are proud to have supported Accelya through a transformative period of organic and acquisitive growth, creating a truly world-class business. We want to thank John Johnston and his team for their unrelenting hard work and commitment during our ownership. We are excited for their next chapter with Vista who will continue to advance Accelya’s development and growth, building on its exceptional foundation of operational excellence and market-leading technology.”
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Evercore served as the financial advisors to Accelya and Warburg Pincus. Kirkland & Ellis served as the legal advisor to Warburg Pincus. For Accelya, Socios Financieros served as the management team’s advisor and Squire Patton Boggs served as the legal advisor. Goldman Sachs and Houlihan Lokey served as the financial advisors to Vista. Simpson Thacher served as the legal advisor to Vista.
About Accelya
Accelya is a leading global provider of technology platforms, software and services to the travel and transport industry. Accelya has been delivering business-critical financial, commercial, cargo and analytics solutions for more than 40 years. With over 200 airline customers, and operations spread across 14 countries, Accelya employs over 2,500 professionals worldwide.
Accelya offers a modular suite of technology solutions for air travel, from offer to settlement, solving critical business problems for airlines, travel agents and industry bodies such as IATA. Accelya’s solutions are organized around customers’ key functions including commercial planning and optimization, sales & distribution management, financial reconciliation & settlement. Paramount to Accelya’s success is the exceptional breadth of understanding of industry data which allows the delivery of insightful and reliable solutions that reduce process friction in a complex inter-dependent industry.
For more information please visit www.accelya.com.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading investment firm with offices in Austin, Chicago, New York City, Oakland, and San Francisco and more than $52 billion in cumulative capital commitments. Vista exclusively invests in enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, credit, public equity, and permanent capital strategies. As a value-added investor with a long-term perspective, Vista contributes professional expertise and multi-level support towards companies to realize their full potential. Vista’s investment approach is anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions, and proven management techniques that yield flexibility and opportunity.
For more information, please visit www.vistaequitypartners.com.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than $62 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 190 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value.
Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 19 private equity funds, which have invested more than $79 billion in over 880 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore.
For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com.
