Technology & Business Services

G2 Capital Advisors is pleased to present its Technology & Business Services (“T&BS”) industry update for Q3 2022, providing commentary and analysis on M&A and market trends within the Technology & Business Services sectors and sub-sectors.

The US economic outlook remains uncertain with a general negative sentiment. While supply chain issues are easing, the hiring and job markets remain strong, and consumer spending while slowing is not plummeting, The Conference Board forecasts that economic weakness will intensify and spread more broadly over the coming months driven by inflation and a hawkish Federal Reserve stepping in to aggressively increase the federal funds rate. The Federal Reserve typically walks rates up slowly because they work with a lag, but one that can be powerful. The current rate of increases has them moving more quickly to offset the lag which is a delicate balance. The Federal Reserve’s rate increases represent the fastest tightening since the 1980s when they ultimately raised rates to nearly 20%, sending unemployment to greater than 10%.

The impact on the T&BS M&A market is largely just emerging. We are seeing a slowdown in response increasing costs of leverage and the general uncertainty in the market as well as a marked increase in scrutiny of fit and during diligence. Additionally, many private equity firms were able to return capital to investors from strong exits over the last couple of years, taking the pressure off near term exits.  However, quality deals are getting done and 2022 volume is expected to be up from pre-pandemic levels.

Several sectors in particular have seen increased deal volume generated by significant tailwinds. Cybersecurity software and services deals have received interest and attention driven by the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the US and Russia created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier in the year, as well as the continued fraying of relations with China in response to a host of factors. There has been a similar boom in IT consulting services sector, as companies continue to need highly-specialized, knowledgeable consultants to help them adapt to the ever-changing technology landscape and offset a tight skilled labor force.

CLIENT
Anyone Home, Inc. (“Anyone Home” or “the Company”) is an industry-leading SaaS-based CRM platform and tech-enabled managed services provider assisting residential property managers in capturing and converting leads and driving engagement with residents. The Company delivers unmatched insights into the customer journey and the industry’s most accurate and actionable lease attribution and analytics reporting.

SITUATION
Anyone Home, and prior lead investor Sopris Capital, were seeking to further the Company’s position as a leading real estate services provider, building on the strength of its technology and property manager partnerships. They sought a strategic partner who would further enhance the ability of Anyone Home to meet the evolving and expanding needs of its customers.

ENGAGEMENT
G2 Capital Advisors, LLC (“G2”) was engaged by Anyone Home as its exclusive financial advisor. G2 led a highly targeted and strategic sell-side transaction process focused on identifying the right partner to accelerate the growth of the Anyone Home platform.

OUTCOME
In March 2022, the transaction was successfully executed through a sale to InhabitIQ, a leader in property management software innovation. InhabitIQ is a portfolio company of investors including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Insight Partners, Greater Sum Ventures, and Providence Strategic Growth.

“G2 was a trusted partnered to Anyone Home throughout the sale process providing key insights, advice, and leadership,” said Todd Katler, CEO and founder of Anyone Home. “They exceeded our expectations in their level of support and expertise. We couldn’t be more pleased with the result.” 

“The combination of Anyone Home and InhabitIQ represents a world-class partnership with expansive growth opportunities,” said Matt Konkle, President of G2. “The G2 team is honored to have worked with Todd and his team to create strategic value within an industry vertical that is a key focus for G2.”

About G2 Capital Advisors
G2 Capital Advisors provides M&A, capital markets and restructuring advisory services to the middle market. We offer integrated, multi-product and sector-focused services by pairing highly experienced C-level executives with specialist investment bankers. We aspire to be the trusted advisor of choice to our clients including corporations and institutional investors. For more information, visit www.g2cap.com.

About Anyone Home

Headquartered in Lake Forest, California, Anyone Home is completely focused on prospect and resident engagement. Its solutions and services create higher NOI by driving more leasing activity by giving prospects the freedom of choice in how and when they choose to interact. Its solutions include the Anyone Home CRM, Property Tours, Leasing Chatbot, Contact Center and analysis of leasing agents’ calls with prospects. To learn more, visit www.anyonehome.com

About Inhabit IQ

Inhabit IQ is an innovative software company serving the residential, commercial and vacation property management industries. Its strategic partnerships deliver best-in-class software solutions and services while fostering innovation and collaboration with like-minded entrepreneurs and industry leaders. The company believes property managers should have the opportunity to choose platforms that best support their business goals and benefit from strategic partnerships across their ecosystem. Inhabit IQ has several private equity partners, including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Insight Partners, Greater Sum Ventures and PSG, that are committed to helping support the Company’s commitment to property management software innovation. To learn more, visit www.inhabitiq.com.

G2 CONTACTS ON THIS TRANSACTION:

Matt Konkle, President: T: 317.371.6608 E[email protected]

Kerri Ford, MD, Head of Technology & Business Services: T: 917.515.7585 E[email protected]

Connor Grogan, Vice President: T: 860.707.5754 E[email protected]

Ted Malpiede, Senior Analyst: T: 781.752.6001 E[email protected]

Ben Stevenson, Associate: T: 857.317.2785 E: [email protected]

CLIENT

ZRG Partners, LLC. (“ZRG” or the “Company”) is a leading global executive search and human capital management firm. It provides a range of executive search, consulting & advisory, and interim solutions across the Industrials, Life Sciences, Consumer, Financial Services, Sports, and Technology industries, among others.

SITUATION

In 2018 following ZRG’s financial partnership with RFE Investment Partners (“RFE”) the organization grew exponentially through increased senior-level hiring efforts. To build on this momentum, in late 2019 ZRG identified an avenue to further diversify and grow its services portfolio of human capital consulting. Through a targeted M&A effort centered around enhancing capabilities, ZRG sought to further differentiate its offering in the marketplace by providing additional consulting solutions for their clients.

ENGAGEMENT

G2 Capital Advisors, LLC (“G2”) served as the exclusive buy-side advisor to ZRG leading a strategic M&A effort focused on identifying and engaging with potential acquisition candidates in the human capital consulting market. ZRG and RFE partnered with G2 to leverage the firms’ deep-rooted expertise across the Technology & Business Services practice, with a heavy focus on services-oriented businesses including specialty consulting and executive search.

OUTCOME

G2’s mandate with ZRG led to the acquisition of Brimstone Consulting Group, LLC. (“Brimstone”), a leading management consultancy offering solutions across leadership development; diversity, equity, and inclusion; post-merger integration; and more. Headquartered in Camden, Maine, Brimstone serves a range of medium sized to Fortune-500 businesses across the globe. Together, ZRG and Brimstone will leverage an extensive network of Human Capital search professionals, interim financial professionals, and business consultants to better serve its client base.

“The complementary nature of our businesses made Brimstone an obvious partner for ZRG, as we continue to expand our portfolio of talent advisory solutions,” says Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Further ensuring a new CEO is successful with the proven process of Brimstone will create a new paradigm for CEO transitions. We are pleased that we can now address two critical areas of leadership to align success for our clients with both strategy work and culture work. We believe when a company aligns strategy and culture with the right talent, amazing success can be achieved, and our offerings now address these three core areas.” 

Andrew Keleher, Vice President at G2 Capital Advisors, commented “The team at G2 has deep roots in the human capital management segment of the market. Supporting one of the world’s fastest-growing executive search/talent recruitment firms on their growth strategy has been a real pleasure these past few years and we look forward to continuing our work together. The recent acquisition of Brimstone Consulting further enhances ZRG’s offering by adding senior level talent that manages a disciplined approach to supporting leaders through business transformation. We are thrilled for both organizations and look forward to seeing their success together in the coming years!”.

About ZRG Partners

Over the past four years, ZRG has been the leader in top line growth and increasing market share through its talented workforce and its investments in industry leading innovations and talent acquisition tools supporting its clients in making better informed and timely talent decisions. The proprietary collaborative Zi platform with its integrated Z Score, Compensation Tools, Interview Insights, and Culture Fit Score have accelerated the hiring process in excess of thirty percent with better decision making. Since 1999, ZRG’s data-driven approach to executive and professional search has been changing the way its clients think about acquiring top talent. For over 20 years, clients have trusted ZRG to recruit top talent around the world. Today, ZRG is recognized as the fastest-growing global search firm and provides a full suite of retained executive management and customized talent solutions through its locations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

About Brimstone Consulting Group, LLC.

Brimstone Consulting is a global leader in business consulting. Brimstone works side by side with their clients, moving from strategy to execution and uncovering the pivot points for true business growth and transformation. Brimstone’s straightforward methodology simultaneously aligns the organization and develops leaders while accelerating growth, performance, and profitability. Brimestone’s core work is focused on business acceleration; change enablement; culture change; executive coaching; leadership development; leadership team alignment; organizational alignment; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and post-merger execution. Brimstone Consulting Group is based out of Camden, ME.

About RFE Investment Partners 

RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing New Canaan, Connecticut-based firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market leading middle market companies. RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX. For more information, visit www.rfeip.com.

About G2 Capital Advisors

G2 Capital Advisors provides M&A, capital markets and restructuring advisory services to the middle market. We offer integrated, multi-product and sector-focused services by pairing highly experienced C-level executives with specialist investment bankers. We aspire to be the trusted advisor of choice to our clients including corporations and institutional investors.

CONTACTS ON THIS DEAL:

Matt Konkle, President, T: 857.310.5554 E: [email protected]

Kerri Ford, Managing Director, Head of Technology & Business Services, T: 917.515.7585 E: [email protected]

Andrew Keleher, Vice President, T: 860.748.6480 E: [email protected]

Ben Stevenson, Associate: T: 412.680.9100 E: [email protected]

Aaron Levy, Senior Analyst: T: 857.250.2767 E: [email protected]