Blackstone and Goldman Sachs to buy Ipreo Holdings from KKR

Private equity firm The Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs merchant banking unit yesterday struck a deal to buy capital markets software specialist Ipreo Holdings from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but DealBook said Blackstone and Goldman struck the deal for about $975 million.

KKR had acquired Ipreo in 2011 from peer Veronis Suhler Stevenson for $425 million.

Ipreo is a global provider of new issuance software solutions across the equity, fixed income, municipal, and syndicated loan markets, including bookbuilding systems, roadshow & conference management platforms, and electronic document delivery.

It is especially known for its Bigdough database, widely recognised as the leading source for institutional contact data and investor profiles, which is available via a suite of sophisticated CRM and prospecting applications and relied upon by both capital markets and investor relations professionals.

Post acquisition by KKR, Ipreo's revenues grew by around fifty per cent, and it made strategic acquisitions of Debtdomain and Discovery Data that have enabled it to expand its offerings to customers, established new operations with a sizable employee base in Raleigh, North Carolina, and significantly expanded its footprint globally.

"Together with KKR, we have grown significantly and solidified our leadership in capital markets software, and data and analytics services. We are excited to partner with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and KKR in our next phase of development," said, Scott Ganeles, CEO of Ipreo.