Calabrio, a Minneapolis-based provider of software and services for corporate call centers and help desks, is being purchased by Thoma Bravo, a San Francisco private equity firm.
KKR, a New York investment firm, is selling its controlling stake in Calabrio in the deal.
Terms were not disclosed. However, analysts speculated the deal values Calabrio, which also is an eventual candidate to sell shares to the public, at more than $1 billion.
"We will just continue to grow and at this size [going public] is a logical next step," Calabrio CEO Tom Goodmanson said in an interview. "But we are open to anything that keeps us growing and expanding. We're getting good revenue growth rates with nice profitability for the last couple of years."
Calabrio, which is expected to produce revenue of more than $200 million this year, has quadrupled revenue since 2016. It employs 400 people in the North Loop and 700 in total. In 2019, the company underwent a substantial expansion with the purchase of Teleopti, a Swedish developer of software for workplace management.
KKR held an 85% stake in Calabrio, with the rest owned by Calabrio executives. Thoma Bravo provides Calabrio with fresh capital and plans to leverage its industry expertise.
The customer-engagement software market attracted more investment dollars in 2020 than ever, according to ResearchandMarkets.com. It's valued at $15.5 billion and should double in size by 2026. The major players in a consolidating trade include Calabrio, IBM, Oracle, Nice Systems, Nuance Communications and Pegasystems.
Calabrio is growing faster, aided by recent acquisitions, than the market growth of about 12.5% compounded annually. ResearchandMarkets said this year that 40%-plus of customers switch providers yearly because of "bad service."
