Acuity Knowledge Partners (“Acuity”), a leading provider of high-value research, analytics and business intelligence to the financial services sector, today announced the acquisition of Cians Analytics (“Cians”), a provider of high-quality, cost-effective research and analytical support for financial institutions. This acquisition will allow Acuity to offer enhanced support in the field of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and help streamline the operations of financial firms globally. The financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

• Acuity Knowledge Partners has completed a 100% acquisition of Cians Analytics, strengthening its position as a global market leader in providing outsourced expertise across research analytics and data to all financial services firms, as well as expanding its product offering
• Cians Analytics has grown significantly over recent years through existing relationships and new client wins; the transaction will further expand Acuity’s client base of top-tier financial services firms, including but not limited to investment banks, private equity funds and hedge funds
• “Given our history, shared cultures and service offerings, the opportunity to combine to ultimately provide high-quality services to a larger client base was compelling,” says Robert King, CEO of Acuity Knowledge Partners
• “The combination of firms will provide both our customers and our employees with the opportunity to grow and benefit from shared expertise and an expanded service offering,” says Anmol Bhandari, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Cians Analytics

Cians Analytics enables investment banks, private equity funds and corporations to do more with their time while significantly reducing operating costs. Its diverse pool of talent, including financial researchers, developers and data scientists, allows the in-house teams of Cians’ clients to better focus on strategic initiatives and increased output. Challenging economic conditions, the migration of finance talent into the technology sector and disruptions in the financial services space have significantly increased demand for these services. Cians’ product offering also includes LeverData, a proprietary data ingestion, validation and management platform which helps customers eliminate the data reliability issues that often plague financial services firms, saving them money, resources and valuable time.

The acquisition represents the first bolt-on transaction made by Acuity since its buyout by Equistone, a leading European mid-market private equity investor, in 2019. Following the acquisition, all Cians employees will join the Acuity workforce, taking its global headcount to over 5500 employees.

“Cians Analytics has proven, throughout the years, that they have a dedication to quality work and best-in-class service to all of their clients,” said Acuity Knowledge Partners CEO, Robert King. “Given our shared cultures and service offerings, the opportunity to combine our teams and provide high-quality services to a larger client base was a compelling one. Post-transaction Acuity will support over 500 banking and financial services firms worldwide. This deal also supports the significant growth we have seen, and continue to target, in key markets such as the U.S.”

“The combination of both firms not only increases the capabilities we can offer to our combined client set, but also allows our employees and customers to have a truly global engagement team and experience,” said Cians Analytics Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Anmol Bhandari. “We often saw each other in engagements and in the marketplace. It ultimately made sense to combine to truly consolidate offerings and clients and to give the customers and employees the best that both firms can offer.”

“This is a win-win situation for our most important stakeholders, our clients and our employees,” said Cians Analytics Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Aman Chowdhury. “Both firms have a history of delivering high-quality services to a discerning and sophisticated client set spread across the globe. While both firms work with similar types of clients, our services and focus areas are often complementary. This sets the combined firm up as the pre-eminent firm in our industry.”

Speaking about the transaction, Tim Swales, Partner at Equistone, said: “Robert and his team have done an excellent job of driving strong organic growth over the past three years. In Cians we recognised an opportunity to supplement that, by supporting the bolt-on acquisition of a company with a similarly strong and highly complementary service offering and client base. By strengthening the product suite available to clients, we believe this transaction has the potential to further accelerate Acuity’s growth over the coming years.”

Cians was advised on the transaction by Grant Thornton, Mayer Brown and Phoenix Legal, while Acuity was advised by BDA Partners (William Blair), Latham & Watkins, AZB Partners and Baker Hostetler.

The round will accelerate Guesty’s international business growth, fuel continued expansion into new verticals, and enhance its industry-leading property management technology and platform to meet the evolving needs of every type of hospitality operator

Guesty, the leading property management platform for the short-term rental and hospitality industry, today announced it has raised a $170 million funding round, led by the Apax Digital Funds, MSD Partners and Sixth Street Growth. Existing investors Viola Growth and Flashpoint also participated in the round. The Series E capital will be used to scale the company’s global operations to meet increasing demand, pioneer new solutions that support the growing needs of hospitality operators, secure key acquisitions, and expand into new business verticals to solidify Guesty’s position as the industry’s gold-standard property management platform.

“Despite an exceptionally challenging fundraising climate, the funding Guesty has raised is a vote of confidence in the travel and short-term rental ecosystem, and an endorsement of our pioneering technology and position as the market leaders of the hospitality and property management software sector,” said Guesty’s Co-founder & CEO, Amiad Soto. “As alternative accommodations surge in popularity, Guesty has come out a clear winner thanks to our commitment to prioritizing innovation and ability to help our customers become more successful. We thank our existing partners Apax – who are increasing their commitment to Guesty – and are excited to welcome aboard MSD Partners and Sixth Street, whose strong track records in our ecosystem make them ideal long-term partners. As we continue to expand globally and grow our market leadership, we look forward to providing hospitality managers with even more value in the coming months and years.”

Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, the short-term rental (STR) industry has grown exponentially, with travelers spending more than $200 billion on STR accommodations in 2021 alone. As the ways consumers choose to live, work, socialize and travel continue to shift, the lines between traditional hotels and rental accommodations have blurred. This trend has accelerated the need for versatile hospitality management technology as operators across the board adapt to new and elevated guest expectations. Guesty’s solution equips hospitality providers of all sizes and accommodation types with an all-encompassing platform to optimize and scale operations, manage and distribute inventory – along with the tools, data-driven insights and enhanced services to effectively respond to these market trends and empower them to succeed.

Customers use Guesty to centralize their reservations across all major booking channels, including Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia and Booking.com. The platform automates and expedites guest communications, reviews, cleaning and other operational tasks, while also facilitating direct bookings, resource and revenue management, smooth payments systems, accounting and damage protection. With its large marketplace of third-party integration partners and its open API capabilities, the platform adapts to specific business and operational requirements, providing comprehensive and bespoke solutions that serve as a one-stop-shop covering all property management needs.

“As alternative property management operations become more complex, Guesty is paving the way for the next generation of digital hospitality services,” said Dave Evans, Partner at Apax Digital. “Their track record of success and innovation, along with their platform’s growing suite of tools and intuitive user experience has Guesty positioned to define and consolidate its category, working with hosting businesses of all sizes. We are excited to continue partnering with the company as it continues to transform the industry.”

“In a largely specialized and localized industry, there is a huge opportunity to bring a global standard of service and excellence to hospitality operators of all shapes and sizes,” said Dan Bitar, Managing Director and co-Head of MSD Growth. “Guesty’s robust product offerings, strong R&D team, and proven ability to scale the business across geographies make it the ideal platform to consolidate the currently fragmented market.”

“The tech-enabled real estate ecosystem continues to grow and mature, and we look forward to joining Guesty on its journey to democratize and further professionalize the property management space,” said Michael McGinn, Partner and Co-Head of Sixth Street Growth. “With Guesty’s strong management team, long-term vision, product innovation, and marquee customers and partners, we have full confidence in the company’s ability to further cement its leadership in the world of hospitality and property management.”

The latest funding round comes at an exciting time for Guesty, having tripled its valuation and doubled its revenues since its last raise. In 2021 and 2022, Guesty launched numerous new products, services and technology partnerships as part of its core platform – including advanced accounting tools, damage protection offerings and payment solutions tailored for property management of short-term rentals. The company’s sustained growth has it positioned to reach $100 million in revenues within the next year. Guesty previously acquired property management platform companies MyVR and YourPorter and plans further acquisitions in the near future.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as sole placement agent on the transaction.

DIF Capital Partners is pleased to announce that its DIF CIF II portfolio company Joink, LLC, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Computer Techniques, Inc. (CTI). This acquisition will provide additional management and capital resources to support the current CTI team and significantly increase the speed of CTI’s fiber-to-the-home deployment in Central Illinois. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.

CTI co-founders Adam Vocks and Billy Williams founded the company in 1998. Over the years the company has transformed from a computer sales and service business into a facilities-based provider that now exclusively services its connectivity customers with fiber optics. The CTI network passes over 12,000 homes across Christian County and Montgomery County, supported by staff from its offices in Taylorville and Hillsboro in Illinois. CTI provides internet, voice, and video to residential customers and internet, voice, and private transport data solutions to business customers.

“We are very pleased to see Joink executing on the growth plan and adding new markets in Illinois, through the acquisition of CTI,” stated Willem Jansonius, Partner and Head of Investments for the DIF CIF strategy. “The strategic rationale of the CTI acquisition is fully aligned with our fiber-to-the-home roll out strategy to ensure that the residents in Indiana and Illinois have reliable high-speed internet access. This highly complementary acquisition by Joink will allow it to serve customers better and continue to further bridge the digital divide.”

“We look forward to integrating CTI’s operations and team led by Bobbie Dean, CTI’s CEO, who will be part of the senior leadership team of Joink, after the transaction closes. Central Illinois had a great day today as we announce our plans to accelerate the expansion of CTI’s fiber network.” stated Josh Zuerner, President and CEO of Joink. “We recognize the importance of high-quality broadband and look forward to providing a best-in-class fiber-optic connectivity experience to end users in Illinois and Indiana.”

Pinpoint Capital Advisors served as financial advisor to CTI. Agentis Capital served as financial advisor to Joink and DIF.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 14 billion in assets under management across eleven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

• Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VI is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).
• DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 190 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact: Thijs Verburg, t.verburg@dif.eu.