Constellation Software, the Toronto-headquartered growth-by-acquisition giant, has just announced that Vela Software, which is an operating group of Constellation has acquired Kurier, a Brazillian legal software startup.
Vela acquires, manages and evolves software companies in various verticals that provide specialized solutions and are extremely important to the market.
This is Constellation’s eighth acquisition in the Brazilian market and the second legal software purchase following the attainment of Aurum, a legal software developer in 2019. Around the world, Constellation has already snapped up over 450 companies, including Volaris Group, Harris Computer Systems, Jonas, Vela Software, Perseus Group, and Total Specific Solutions.
The company’s business model is unique as it is sustained by acquiring and building vertical market software businesses. Essentially, Constellation buys software companies with sustainable revenue growth and robust profit margins that are generally valued in the range of $5 to $10 million.
In January, Constellation acquired Charter Software Inc., the leading provider of business system software to agricultural, outdoor power, construction, industrial and golf cart dealers and distributors in North America. Under the terms of the deal, the new company formed, called Charter Software Solutions Inc., will operate under the Perseus division of Constellation.
Meanwhile, in February BiblioCommons, a Toronto-based company providing applications and interfaces for public libraries across the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand was acquired by Volaris Group, one of Constellation’s six operating companies.
The companies acquired by the Canadian giant provide mission-critical software services across industries like bioscience, agriculture, public housing, asset management, the public library sector, and more. Due to the essential nature of the services, Constellation also experiences high customer retention.
Unlike general private equity firms, Constellation has never sold the companies it’s acquired, which means it only buys those with strong sustainable models. Its portfolio companies usually retain their management teams and employees, though they provide oversight regarding financial performance. With these acquisitions, companies benefit from access to capital and other resources to fulfill development initiatives or to expand marketing reach.
Founded in 1996, Constellation Software has been a publicly-traded company since May 2006. The company has a diverse portfolio of companies conducting business in more than 100 countries with combined revenues exceeding $3 billion and more than 18,000 employees.
