TECHNOLOGY
Infor Lands $2 Billion Investment from Koch Equity
Koch Equity Development LLC, the investment and acquisition subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., which also owns Lycra parent company Invista, will invest more than $2 billion in Infor, the New York–based provider of cloud-based, industry-specific business applications in a bid to help Infor accelerate innovation and expand distribution.
Infor’s customers include companies in fashion, retail, distribution, healthcare, the public sector and manufacturing. For the apparel and retail industries, Infor supplies ERP (enterprise resource planning) and PLM (product lifecycle management) software. There are more than 3,200 fashion and retail businesses using the Infor CloudSuite Fashion, according to the company. Last year, Infor acquired GT Nexus, an Oakland, Calif.–based global trade and logistics platform, in a deal aimed at helping clients’ businesses improve sales, operations and production planning by integrating merchandising, marketing and demand data across the GT Nexus network of more than 28,000 businesses, banks, logistics providers, brokers and carriers.
An early adopter of cloud-based applications, Infor has more than 66 million users, and the company saw double-digit revenue growth in the last quarter thanks to a 130 percent annual increase in software-as-service revenue, according to the company. The software provider uses Amazon Web Services, which allows Infor to invest in industry functionality rather than data-center infrastructure.
“Koch is one of the largest private companies in the world with diversified holdings and immense resources to support the next exciting phase of growth at Infor, and we are thrilled to have their support,” said Charles Phillips, Infor’s chief executive officer. “Some of the largest companies in the world have approached Infor looking for a modern alternative to the legacy options available for mission-critical business applications. Infor has the scale and capital to provide a digital platform for the Global 5000.”
During Phillips’ tenure, the company invested approximately $2 billion in product design and development over the last five years, releasing more than 400 new products, 1,700 integrations and 16,000 industry features in its CloudSuite product line, according to a company statement.
Infor employs 15,000 people in more than 170 countries.
The deal is expected to close in early 2017. Infor’s existing shareholders include Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners, which will maintain control of the company. KED has an option to appoint four of nine directors on Infor’s board.
Based in Wichita, Kan., Koch Industries employs 100,000 people around the world and has annual revenues of approximately $100 billion.
For more information, visit www.infor.com.
