Solera Holdings, Inc. announced that it has been acquired by an affiliate of Vista Equity Partners. Other key investors include an affiliate of Koch Equity Development LLC, the investment and acquisition subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc., and an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. The transaction, originally announced on September 13, 2015, was completed on March 3.
The acquisition – which strategically combines Solera's world-class risk and asset management solutions with Vista's technology-focused operational and financial expertise – sparks the next phase of Solera's global expansion, and accelerates its mission to digitally transform how the world manages life's two most important assets: the vehicle and the home.
"Since founding Solera, we have focused on being a global player by developing proprietary data and software solutions that help our customers meet the increasing digital demands of the automotive ecosystem," said Tony Aquila, Solera's founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "At Solera, we have a very strong and committed innovation culture, and believe that by partnering with Robert and his strong team, we can further achieve our goal to become the 20 percent or 80 percent provider of cognitive data sciences that help customers with all of the transactions across the car ownership lifecycle."
(WATCH: Aquila discusses the acquisition with Bloomberg's Alix Steel)
Solera serves more than 195,000 customers in over 75 countries, and manages over 230 million digital transactions ranging from vehicle purchase to sale and all events in between, such as electronic titling, real-time valuation, crowdsourced repair, and consumer loyalty intelligence. Solera is also leveraging its proprietary algorithmic data systems to move beyond the garage into the digitally connected home.
"With the accelerated pace of change transforming the global marketplace, there are few companies like Solera that possess the market leadership, product innovation, and extraordinary talent to drive the digital evolution of industries," said Robert F. Smith, founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vista. "We are confident that Tony's entrepreneurial spirit and dedicated team combined with Vista's resources and experience will enable Solera to continue shaping the future of the industry and generate lasting value for its customers."
"Robert and I could not have chosen better partners for this transaction," added Mr. Aquila. "With the deep global strength of investors like Koch and Goldman, and the increased flexibility from operating as a private company, we will deliver even greater value to our partners – and their customers – through innovative technologies that are essential to succeeding in today's digital economy."
