Hg announces an investment in Empyrean Solutions

HgCapital Trust PLC

21 November 2024

 

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("HgT"), today announces an investment in Empyrean Solutions, a leading provider of risk and performance management software for financial institutions. 

HgT will invest approximately £11.7 million in Empyrean Solutions, with other institutional clients of Hg investing alongside HgT through the Hg Mercury 4 Fund. 

HgT, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all Hg's investments. 

Note that these figures only relate to HgT's share of Hg's overall investment in Empyrean Solutions. 

HgT's liquid resources available for future deployment (including all announced transactions and the interim dividend paid in October 2024, and the £347 million undrawn balance on the bank facility) are estimated to be £418 million (17% of the pro-forma 30 September 2024 NAV of £2.4 billion).  

The investment will reduce HgT's outstanding commitments to invest in Hg transactions to approximately £681 million (28% of the pro-forma 30 September 2024 NAV). 

Empyrean Solutions Secures Significant Investment from Hg 

Transaction follows a period of rapid growth and scaling, where Empyrean has emerged as a leading provider of integrated risk and performance management solutions for financial institutions.

Funding will enable Empyrean to accelerate its product roadmap investments to address more 'Office of the CFO' software solutions, designed specifically for financial institutions, as well as expand sales and marketing to keep up with growing demand.

 
Woburn, MA. November 21, 2024 - Empyrean Solutions ("Empyrean"), a leading provider of risk and performance management software for financial institutions, today announced a significant strategic investment from Hg, a leading investor in European and North American software businesses. The Empyrean management team and current investors, TechVenture Investors and Spectrum Equity, will all remain shareholders. Spectrum Equity will also participate alongside Hg in the new transaction. 

Empyrean's platform solves mission critical challenges for finance teams at financial institutions, who historically have had to navigate large quantities of siloed data, antiquated software applications and slow, static modelling. With a modern, cloud-based platform where banks and credit unions of all sizes can connect and process massive data sets - spanning loans, treasury & funding positions, deposits and general ledger information all at a transaction level - Empyrean is transforming the 'Office of the CFO' for financial institutions.  

While Empyrean started as a specialist in Asset & Liability Management (ALM), the platform today spans Budgeting and Planning, Profitability, Data & Analytics and many other key functions for the finance teams of financial institutions. With superior technology, deep domain expertise and a relentless focus on driving innovation, Empyrean is helping the CFO and their teams to navigate complex economic and regulatory environments, optimize their financial performance and make informed strategic decisions.  

This transaction follows a period of sustained and rapid growth at Empyrean. During this time, the Company has achieved several financial and operational milestones: 

·      Consistent Growth. Empyrean has grown revenue at 40% per year since 2017 through a combination of new customer adds and existing customers adopting additional software modules. 

·      Compelling Customer Base. 270 total software customers -- spanning small, mid-sized and large financial institutions -- as of end of October 2024, including 70 new customers added over the last 12 months alone. 

·      Multi-Module Capabilities. 110 customers have adopted Empyrean's newly launched Budgeting and Planning module in the first year since launch. 

·      Industry Recognition. ALM RiskTech Quadrant Category Leader and Category Winner for Financial Planning & Budgeting award by Chartis Research as part of its 2024 Chartis RiskTech 100 Awards. 

·      Large Bank Momentum. Recent addition of Ed Young, industry expert and former Fed risk specialist, who joins as Managing Director with a mandate to expand Empyrean's growing base of banks with $100bn+ in total assets. 

"Our strategy - replacing legacy software solutions and disparate datasets with a single, SaaS native and cloud-based platform - is gaining traction in the sector." said Chris Maclin, Chief Executive Officer of Empyrean. "This new investment and our partnership with Hg will enable Empyrean to better address the needs of financial institution CFOs, and drive innovation in a space where it is desperately needed. We're thrilled to welcome Hg as a new investor as we embark on the next phase of Empyrean's journey." 

"Hg's knowledge of software businesses and their proven track record partnering with companies across growth initiatives will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and expand our reach," said Raffi Festekjian, Managing Director at TechVenture Investors. "We are also pleased that Spectrum Equity will remain actively involved as we work together to realize our shared vision of delivering to the financial services industry a comprehensive 'Office of the CFO' platform that is a single source of the truth, further solidifying our strong position in the industry."   

"The Empyrean success story is still in its early innings," said Farouk Hussein, Partner at Hg. "Our knowledge of the 'Office of CFO', experience in banking software, and extensive work across this sector confirmed Empyrean's unique positioning. We are impressed by Empyrean's management team and their approach to launching new products that solve financial institution CFO customer pain points, and we look forward to backing Chris and partnering with the existing shareholders and management team."  
 

"This is exactly the right time for Empyrean to bring on a like-minded growth investor like Hg to help Empyrean realize the company's full potential. The next chapter of growth at Empyrean will see the company stay true to its core mission but also pursue new growth initiatives like international expansion and penetration of the largest US and global financial institutions" added Adam Margolin, Managing Director at Spectrum Equity. 

Piper Sandler is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP as legal advisor to Empyrean. Raymond James is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal advisor to Hg. 

The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed and is subject to closing.  

For further details: 

Hg 

Tom Eckersley                                                                                     [phone] 

HgCapital Trust 

Laura Dixon and George Crowe                                                         [phone] 

Cadarn

Lucy Clark                                                                                           [phone]

Cadarn

David Harris                                                                                         [phone]

Brunswick

Sofie Brewis                                                                                        [phone] 

[e-mail] 

About HgCapital Trust plc 

HgCapital Trust plc, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L), gives investors exposure through a liquid vehicle to a portfolio of high-growth private companies in the software and services sector. The selection of new investments and creation of value in these businesses are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com. 

The contents of the Hg, HgCapital Trust, Empyrean, TechVenture Investors and Spectrum Equity's websites are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement. 

 

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