Connexeo, a Bloomington-based provider of software for education and community organizations, has raised $110 million in growth equity financing from Boston-based private equity firm Great Hill Partners.
Connexeo will use the proceeds to fund the market expansion of its offerings to education and community organizations that make registration, enrollment, payment processing and event scheduling easier for administrators. The company — which also says its software reduces administrative time and cost — hopes to expand geographically but will also look to serve schools and community organizations with additional services.
"Connexeo is filling an unmet need by introducing technology solutions that enable teachers, administrators, registrars and community organizations to work smarter and more efficiently," said Charlie Piper, Connexeo's chief executive.
The growth equity announcement is also the opportunity to introduce a new company name and branding that will unify four existing but complementary products — some of which go back about 30 years — that are joining together under one name with the help of private equity funding.
The four products are: ASAP, a comprehensive registration and class management software platform; RevTrak, a payment processing system for district, food service and child-care programs; TryBooking, software to book events and sell tickets online; and Charms, software for music-focused organizations that provides administrative and assessment solutions.
Great Hill Partners has raised money for several other companies that make software-enabled payment solutions including Vanco Payment Solutions based in Atlanta; AffiniPay based in Austin, Texas; Paytronix of Newton, Mass.; Network Merchants of Roselle, Ill.; and BlueSnap of Waltham, Mass.
"We strive to identify highly differentiated software companies serving fragmented markets," said Nick Cayer, a Great Hills partner, in a prepared statement. "Based on our market research, education and community administrators and their community members are seeking robust tools to more effectively interact with each other as well as register and pay for activities and events. Connexeo fills this void."
The company does not disclose annual revenue, but Piper said it has had strong double-digit revenue increases in the past couple of years and is profitable and free of long-term debt.
Piper said as Connexeo — which has 165 employees, including 72 at its Bloomington headquarters — focuses on expanding geographically and cross-selling products that there could be more opportunities for additions. "We will likely do additional acquisitions, and we will continue down our path of accelerated growth" Piper said.
Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926
