Glendale-based software firm ServiceTitan Inc. has acquired JaRay Software Inc., a business software system for home services.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Privately held ServiceTitan, which makes a software platform for blue collar contractors, projects annual 2018 revenue in the “upper double-digits” to “low triple-digits,” according to Connor Theilmann, ServiceTitan’s vice president of business operations.
There are more than 45,000 contractors in the blue-collar trades who use ServiceTitan’s software somewhere in the pipeline from the moment a customer places a call to a contractor to payment of the bill. The software does everything from track a contractor’s vehicle when it’s on the way to a job, to find finance for a home emergency repair, like for plumbing or replacing a heater.
“We touch 20 percent of U.S. homes,” Theilmann said.
The JaRay system was developed by Paul Farmer Sr. and his family more than four decades ago. Farmer owned a Roto-Rooter franchise in Wichita, Kan., and wanted computer software that would serve as a field service management tool for his plumbing business.
Farmer’s daughter, Jane Jantz, and her husband, Ray, wrote and created the software, proving to be the company’s namesake as well.
ServiceTitan was co-founded in June 2012 by Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan.
ServiceTitan is a mobile, cloud-based software platform that helps home services companies streamline operations, improve customer service and increase sales.
Theilmann explained that the JaRay Software acquisition was the first for ServiceTitan, but others are likely given a funding raise of $161 million from a group of venture capital firms. ServiceTitan has plans to expand into other related verticals such as roofing, pest control, landscaping and glass repair, among others.
Earlier this year, ServiceTitan announced $62 million in Series C funding. The funding round was led by Battery Ventures and will be used to expand the company from 400 to 500 employees by the end of the year, as well as for product enhancement and partnership expansion.
As part of the deal, Bessemer Venture Partners and Iconiq Capital added to their existing investments. Battery Ventures partner Michael Brown joined the company’s board as part of the round.
ServiceTitan clocked in at No. 8 on the Business Journal’s fastest growing private companies list (see page 22), with revenue growth of 436 percent between 2015 and 2017. The company reported 2017 revenue of $28.2 million.
PLATINUM PURCHASES JOSTENS
Beverly Hills private equity firm Platinum Equity has agreed to acquire Jostens Inc. from Newell Brands Inc. in a transaction valued at roughly $1.3 billion.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approval.
“For more than a century, Jostens has helped people commemorate the most important moments in their lives, from high school graduations to NBA championships,” said Platinum Equity Partner Louis Samson in a statement.
Established in 1897, Jostens was originally founded to repair customers’ keepsake jewelry. The company and the Jostens brand has grown to include products such as yearbooks, publications, class rings and consumer goods. Jostens’ 2017 net sales were $768 million.
Newell Brands, a struggling Hoboken, N.J.-based consumer-goods company, also announced it had sold its Pure Fishing division to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Newell expects about $1.3 billion in proceeds from the sale of Pure Fishing, which had net sales of about $556 million in 2017.
Platinum Equity, which is a global investment firm with $13 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of about 40 companies, was founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, who was No. 16 on the Business Journal’s 2018 Wealthiest Angelenos list with an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion.
Platinum Equity recently acquired Lifescan Inc. from Johnson & Johnson for $2.1 billion, and earlier this year completed corporate carve outs from Pitney Bowes Inc., GenOn Energy Inc., Ball Corp. and Wyndham Worldwide Corp., among several other investments.
Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor to Platinum Equity on the acquisition of Jostens.
Have a deal tip? Pat Maio can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8329.
