Equity firm gives Vistex $105 million boost

A California private equity firm has bought a minority stake in Hoffman Estates-based global software company Vistex Inc., an investment deal that is worth up to $105 million, the company announced Thursday.

Under the agreement, Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity firm, will initially invest $65 million into Vistex, with up to an additional $40 million in investments available for future strategic acquisitions, according to the company. The investment by the Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm will support a variety of company priorities, including talent acquisition in sales, marketing and engineering from area universities and colleges, according to Vistex Founder and CEO Sanjay Shah.

It's the software company's first equity capital raise, he added.

"It is unprecedented for an enterprise software company to grow to a size and scale like Vistex without any external capital," Shah said.

Founded by Shah in 1999, Vistex supplies SAP-based software solutions that manage trade, channel and vendor programs, pricing, performance incentives and rights and royalties. It's customers include General Electric, Kimberly-Clark, Siemens, Bosch and Sony, according to the company's website

Shah said the company has grown over the past 20 years into a worldwide operation with 20 offices, 1,500 employees and nearly $250 million in revenue in 2018.

Vistex has recently taken on an aggressive expansion, especially in its cloud-based offerings, and sought out an investment partner to support its growth objectives.

"This infusion will provide us with the opportunity to further expand Vistex into new markets, conduct strategic acquisitions in new technologies and increase R&D efforts in AI and other capabilities," Shah said.

He added the investment by a Silicon Valley equity firm also shows the strength of Chicago's tech market.

"Technology entrepreneurs can also build successful and thriving companies outside of Silicon Valley, right here in Chicago," he said.