Three weeks ago (2/20/14), one of Horizon’s clients, Utah-based TreeHouse Interactive (now Impartner), received a majority private equity buyout and recapitalization from co-investors Kennet Partners and Joe Wang.
Wang, who previously made his mark in the Utah high-tech community as president and CEO of local software powerhouse LANDesk Software, will lead the fast-growing PRM market leader as the new chairman and CEO. The company’s sole shareholders Craig Flynn and Erich Flynn will remain with the company and collaborate with Wang in leadership positions in development and sales.
TreeHouse Interactive delivers market leading SaaS-based partner relationship management (PRM) and marketing automation platform (MAP) solutions to companies that want to get better return on investment from their partner networks and marketing efforts. Reseller View is the most complete PRM in the industry while Marketing View has been innovating marketing automation since 1998. In January TreeHouse reported that the company’s total overall 2014 revenue grew 49 percent over 2013. The number of partners supported by Reseller View™ PRM surpassed the previous all-time high, reaching more than 160,000 worldwide at the end of 2014.
Kennet is a leading international growth equity firm that invests in companies in Europe and North America. Kennet supports entrepreneurial technology businesses with expansion capital to accelerate growth and build shareholder value. Kennet Partners is currently investing capital from its $700 million in funds under management.
Joe Wang’s record includes growing businesses and generating tremendous returns during his 25 years in high technology. As CEO at WatchGuard Technologies, he successfully turned around the revenue declining and money-losing business, creating a profitable and growing company with vastly improved technology and market position. Prior to joining WatchGuard, Wang was president and CEO of LANDesk Software, an Intel spin-off, where he grew the company by 150 percent in four years. He sold LANDesk Software in 2007, generating 11x return for investors. Prior to LANDesk, Wang was founder and CEO of 20/20 Software. He successfully grew the company and then sold to Symantec, generating 10x return for his investors.
Please let us know if you’d like to learn more about this transaction and the Horizon process. The transaction represents a unique opportunity for TreeHouse’s shareholders, allowing them to enjoy a significant financial liquidity event while continuing as equity owners and operators.
You can read more about the transaction on TreeHouse’s website and in articles published by other media outlets.