Private equity firm Warburg Pincus has discerning tastes for its investment portfolio. With more than $17 billion invested in technology companies, the group has chosen Herndon, Virginia-based Softeon as its next target.
The company specializes in supply chain management software that includes warehouse management, distributed order management, and warehouse execution systems. In addition to its core products, the company also offers a suite of complementary services, including labor and resource management, store enablement, planning and network inventory management, third-party logistics billing, and freight audit. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Warburg Pincus has a history of going big with its logistics investments.
In addition to deals with ANE Logistics and Yunniao Logistics, the PE firm has invested $255 in BlueGrace Logistics. In 2016, In 2016, it also invested $125 million in Mumbai-based Stellar Value Chain Solutions. Since then, Stellar has continued to experience significant growth, with a series of acquisitions and a recently-announced plan to build 35 logistics parks in 21 cities over the next four years.
Softeon hopes its own partnership with Warburg Pincus will herald similar success. The company says that funding will be used to grow sales and marketing headcount, expand its geographical footprint, and finance new technology research and development. Notably, this is Softeon’s first outside investment.
“Softeon has been fully self-funded and profitable since its inception. This investment validates our recent performance and strengthens our commitment to offer industry-leading solutions to more customers in more verticals, with a continued focus on exceptional customer success and satisfaction," said Gana Govind, President, Softeon. “Our partnership with Warburg Pincus will accelerate such efforts and I am thrilled to see the company enter its next growth phase.”
Govind has her eyes set on competitors Manhattan Associates, Deposco, and Highjump. While Softeon is outpacing Deposco’s revenue, it is still dwarfed by both of its other chief rivals.
Warburg Pincus managing director Alex Berzofsky sees the logistics company as ready to step up its efforts through expansion and product development.
“Softeon is an exciting opportunity for us given its differentiated supply chain solutions and strong customer base,” he says. “Warburg Pincus has a long-standing track record of investing in the logistics technology sector and we look forward to partnering with the Softeon team as they continue to expand.”
