BOSTON, March 28, 2023 – Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Loftware has received a significant equity investment from Accel-KKR, a global technology-focused investment firm headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. The two firms will share governance and partner equally as investors to continue executing Loftware’s growth plans. Loftware is a leading global provider of cloud-based Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management solutions. This is the fifth exit for Riverside Fund V. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Riverside Partners has been an invaluable advisor and supporter as we pursued growth in the past several years, and we are delighted that they will remain a significant investor in our business,” said Robert O’Connor, Loftware President and CEO. “We are equally excited to welcome Accel-KKR to Loftware. Now backed by not just one but two leading technology investors, we are poised to do even more for our customers, partners, and employees as we accelerate our global growth plans.”
Riverside Partners invested in Loftware in July 2014, and supported the company’s continued innovation, three strategic add-on acquisitions, and accelerated global growth. During this period, Loftware solidified its position as a cloud-based global leader with deep expertise across a broad range of sectors including regulated industries. Delivering end-to-end solutions for customers of all sizes, Loftware expanded its strong direct go-to-market capabilities by adding channel sales, a strong alliance and partners program as well as expanding its European footprint.
“Since our initial investment in 2014, Loftware has gone from strength to strength, delivering solutions that drive the category forward and stay one step ahead of customer needs,” said David Belluck, General Partner at Riverside Partners. “We are tremendously proud of what the talented team at Loftware has accomplished, and we’re thrilled to welcome Accel-KKR alongside us in this next phase of the company’s journey.”
“Loftware is in a class of its own in the Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management industry,” said Park Durrett, Managing Director at Accel-KKR. “Loftware’s solutions are mission critical and will continue to grow in importance as traceability and compliance become even more crucial to the supply chain ecosystem. We appreciate the confidence and trust that Loftware and Riverside Partners have placed in us as a financial partner, and we look forward to bringing Accel-KKR’s dedicated resources and supply chain experience to help the company continue to innovate and deliver best-in-class solutions that meet the market’s evolving needs.”
Founded over 35 years ago, Loftware is a pioneer in Enterprise Labeling and has since become one of the largest global software companies specializing in Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management solutions. Loftware serves over 100,000 customers and 1,000 partners worldwide in more than 100 countries for high-volume, complex labeling needs. The company’s software enables customers to design, manage and print labels across the supply chain, thereby improving accuracy, traceability and compliance of their goods and processes. Widely recognized as a leader in the industry, Loftware was recently named by Corporate LiveWire as the “Labeling Solutions Provider of the Year.”
DC Advisory and Robert W. Baird & Co. acted as financial advisors, and Choate Hall & Stewart acted as legal advisor to the company.
Since our initial investment in 2014, Loftware has gone from strength to strength, delivering solutions that drive the category forward and stay one step ahead of customer needs. We are tremendously proud of what the talented team at Loftware has accomplished, and we’re thrilled to welcome Accel-KKR alongside us in this next phase of the company’s journey David Belluck General Partner
About Loftware
Loftware is the world’s largest cloud-based Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management provider, offering an end-to-end labeling solution platform for companies of all sizes. Maintaining a global presence with offices in the US, UK, Germany, Slovenia, China, and Singapore, Loftware boasts over 35 years of expertise in solving labeling challenges. We help companies improve accuracy, traceability, and compliance while improving the quality, speed, and efficiency of their labeling. As the leading global provider of Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management, along with Clinical Trials Labeling and Content Management, Loftware enables supply chain agility, supports evolving regulations, and optimizes business operations for a wide range of industries. These include automotive, chemicals, consumer products, electronics, food & beverage, manufacturing, medical device, pharmaceuticals, retail, and apparel. For more information, visit www.loftware.com.
About Riverside Partners
Founded in 1989, Riverside Partners is a middle market private equity firm with total capital commitments of $1.6 billion raised since inception. The firm focuses on growth-oriented companies in the technology and healthcare industries. Riverside Partners is particularly experienced at partnering with founders, owners and management teams, and it brings substantial domain expertise and operating experience to its portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.riversidepartners.com.
About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $18 billion in cumulative capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and tech-enabled businesses, well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions, including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across various transaction types, including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR’s headquarters is in Menlo Park, with offices in Atlanta and London. Visit accel-kkr.com to learn more.
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