2020 Brings Continued Acquisition Interest in Contract Management Solutions Space
There has been an abundance of M&A activity in the Legal Tech space over the past few years, and 2020 is no exception. Under the umbrella of legal tech, Contract Management Solutions, specifically, has seen several noteworthy middle market transactions in the last year. Contract Management Services providers have attracted acquisition interest from primarily strategic acquirers in recent months, as these larger solutions providers buyers aim to expand their capabilities in the Legal Tech space and snap up market share in the rapidly growing sector.
This February, leader in electronic contract management, DocuSign, announced that it would acquire the remaining equity Seal Software, a company focused on AI technology integration in the contract space for $188 million. DocuSign, already an investor in the target, uses Seal’s analytics and machine learning application as part of the Agreement Cloud, and going forward the plan is to further include Seal Software’s AI technology into this platform.
In April, Coupa Software, a leader in business spend management, acquired Exari, a global leader in providing contract lifecycle management. The deal had a value of $215 million. The combination of Exari’s advanced contract lifecycle management capabilities and Coupa Software’s business spend management platform will allow the business to management the entire contract management lifecycle – from contract request to signature capture.
In February, Corcentric, a global leader in procurement and financial process automation solutions, announced the completion of its acquisition of Determine, a leader in Source-to-Pay and Enterprise Contract Lifecycle Management Cloud Platform solutions. The deal was valued at $32 million. The acquisition of Determine will open the opportunity to deliver more value to customers and increase Corcentric’s global market footprint.
In February, MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions, announced the acquisition of CTM Software, a global provider of transaction management software and residential real estate workflow, valued at $35 million. The acquisition of CTM Software positions MRI software to enter the extensive real estate contract management space and highlights the appetite for vertical-specific contract management specialists.