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Transactions

July 2014
Lucca, Italy
secured a $36 million investment from
Milan, Italy


Background

Based in Lucca, Italy, Tagetik Software srl (“Tagetik”, or the “Company), is a founder owned, provider of corporate performance management software solutions to some of the world’s largest, global corporations. The Company derives its name from Tages, the mythological Etruscan figure who had the appearance of a youthful child and the wisdom of an old man, symbolizing Tagetik’s agile and innovative software and superior application intelligence.

Over the course of roughly 25 years, Pierluigi Pierallini, the company’s CEO and founder, grew Tagetik into a global business that competed head-to-head, and won, against “megavendors” in the business intelligence arena: Oracle, SAP, and IBM.

In late 2013, Pierluigi together with the other principal Tagetik shareholders decided that the Company would be better served if it were partnered with a financial sponsor who could help them take the Company to the next level by expanding in North America and further developing its cloud-based application. To that end, they engaged Marlin & Associates (“M&A”).



Overview

M&A had the advantage of knowing both the industry and the players including the many financial sponsors that have targeted the business intelligence industry for investment. M&A organized a dedicated team to work closely with Management to identify strengths and weaknesses of the Company, and to develop materials that would seamlessly communicate Tagetik’s story, growth potential, strategy, execution plan and financial projections. Working with Tagetik, M&A identified and approached a discreet number of financial sponsors in North America and Europe with expertise in the software space and a demonstrated affinity for this type of transaction. M&A leveraged its deep domain expertise to highlight the strengths and future prospects of an Italian software Company that was not well known outside of its home market. M&A helped Management frame the Company’s unique value proposition and growth potential and then spent the time with these parties to ensure that they fully understood the story. When the process narrowed the field down to a few parties, M&A helped Tagetik shareholders to evaluate the different offers and deal structures.

After a review of the options, careful consideration, and negotiation, Tagetik secured a US$36 million minority investment from White Bridge Investments, an Italian financial sponsor with the expertise to help the Company execute on its growth plan. Pierluigi and the other principals of Tagetik felt comfortable partnering with a local firm that had expertise software as well as helping European firms grow into the North American and European markets.

M&A Role

M&A worked diligently on the deal to craft materials, initiate conversations, and negotiate alternative offers with multiple parties and final legal documents swiftly. Marlin & Associates acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to the shareholders and managers of Tagetik.

Press

Tagetik to Accelerate Strategic Growth with $36 Million Capital Investment

July 17, 2014

White Bridge Investments acquires a minority stake in Tagetik, with the objective of supporting: international expansion; product and technology innovation; and accelerating Tagetik’s impressive 35% revenue growth rate.

LUCCA (ITALY) AND STAMFORD, CT (US) 17 July 2014

Tagetik, a global provider of enterprise software solutions for performance and disclosure management, financial governance and business intelligence, today announced the successful completion of a capital increase and sale of a minority stake to White Bridge Investments S.p.A.

The $36 million capital investment will enable Tagetik to accelerate growth in strategic international markets, enhance the organizational and commercial structure to support future growth as well as promote product innovation in key areas including cloud, in-memory, mobility and the development of industry vertical and process-specific pre-packaged solutions. 

For the year ending December 31, 2013 Tagetik reported record revenues and 25% revenue growth, the 12th straight year of double-digit growth. The growth trend is continuing with 35% year-over-year revenue growth during the first six months of 2014.

The current Tagetik leadership team which has successfully grown the company into a major player in the CPM market will remain in place to drive future growth. In particular, Tagetik announces the appointment of founder Pierluigi Pierallini as Chairman of the Board and of Marco Pierallini and Manuel Vellutini as Co-CEOs.

“Bringing in an external investor after so many years of successful self-funded growth is an important milestone for Tagetik. We are conscious of the tremendous opportunities available to the company in the coming years and we believe that White Bridge represents the best partner to support our expansion in several key markets while retaining our “Performance with Passion” culture and best-in-class customer satisfaction ratings,” said company founder and new Chairman of the Board Pierluigi Pierallini. “The international network and experience of White Bridge will bring new opportunities to Tagetik and we all look forward to a strong long-term relationship as we work towards our common goal of continually delivering the best CPM solutions to customers worldwide”.

“We prepared a comprehensive business plan with clearly identified strategic actions to be implemented in the short to medium term. Among others, we target to increase our growing market penetration in North America through a significant hiring plan of talented and experienced local managers, the development of industry specific verticals and other pre-packaged solutions that position the appeal of our unique platform to key industries such as financial services and manufacturing” added Manuel Vellutini, Co-CEO at Tagetik. “This is a great time to be part of the Tagetik ecosystem and we felt it was important to bring in an investor that is not looking to redefine our company’s strategy and organization but rather to help us accelerate the execution of our strategy without disruptions: White Bridge is that investor; and we are very excited about what we can accomplish together”.

Added Marco Pierallini Co-CEO, “Over the years we have invested in expanding the breadth of our unified Financial Performance Platform to include the new cloud deployment, SAP HANA as a supported database, HTML5 for an enhanced user experience and mobile capabilities. In addition, we expanded our integrated reporting capabilities in the collaborative disclosure management”, said Marco Pierallini Co-CEO at Tagetik. “White Bridge understands the value of our R&D capabilities and their investment will allow us to accelerate new and innovative product delivery to our customers”. 

Commenting on the transaction Marco Pinciroli, CEO of White Bridge, added, "We are very excited about Tagetik’s growth prospects as a provider of Software solutions for the CPM market. Tagetik has invested heavily in the development of the leading unified CPM platform specifically designed for the office of the CFO. We expect Tagetik will continue to capitalize on its technological edge to achieve superior growth. Our long-term investment approach suits well the Company’s needs and vision; we are very excited to partner with such a talented management team”.

According to Stefano Devescovi, Co-CEO of White Bridge Investments, “Tagetik has an impressive financial track record, a great reputation in the marketplace and a loyal customer base. We will actively support the company’s expansion efforts in the global market. The additional financial resources will allow Tagetik to better exploit significant current market opportunities. We look forward to working with the management team to achieve its ambitious goals”.

About White Bridge Investments 
White Bridge is a holding company providing long-term capital, operational know-how and strategic vision to successful small to medium size Italian companies. Leveraging on White Bridge Investments’ management long-lasting international experience in the principal investments industry, the company aims at supporting the value creation of Italian small to medium size champions in the global markets. White Bridge Investment was advised by Matteo Delucchi, partner at the law firm Giovannelli e Associati Studio Legale, supported by Associate Beatrice Riva, and by Deloitte & Touche.

Tagetik was assisted by Mario Ortu, Matteo Orsingher, Paolo Canal and the Senior Associate Francesca Flego from Orsingher Ortu Avvocati Associati, and by Marlin & Associates of New York as Financial Adviser.

 

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