Equiteq, the leading M&A advisory firm for companies in the knowledge economy, is pleased to announce that it has advised The Shelby Group (“TSG”), a premier e-procurement transformation and optimization consulting firm, on its growth investment from WestView Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused on middle market growth companies.
“Equiteq did a great job of articulating Shelby’s unique value and positioning to potential partners. Through their expertise and relationships with Private Equity firms they helped us understand our options and ultimately achieve a great outcome.” – John Dreyer, The Shelby Group, CEO
Headquartered in Schaumburg, IL, The Shelby Group is a leading provider of consulting, implementation and ongoing procurement operations services with a focus on the leading procure-to-pay software suites including Coupa, Ivalua and SAP Ariba. With a sole focus on procurement optimization, Shelby has helped hundreds of companies in over 90 countries successfully select, implement, adopt and optimize full-suite digital procurement platforms. In addition, the Company’s Digital InvoiceTM product offering provides an end-to-end solution that allows customers to automate paper and PDF invoice processing to become “fully digital”. CEO John Dreyer and Executive Vice President Jim Kandilas will continue to lead the company and maintain a significant ownership stake.
“Shelby sees strong sustained demand for digital procurement transformation among industry-leading companies. This continues to fuel the rapid growth of Shelby’s consulting services and companion offerings. In order to meet this challenge, we invested over a year seeking a partner that would share our vision and provide the resources to meet this market influx. We are pleased to announce we have found that partner in the WestView Capital team,” said John Dreyer.
In summarizing the strategic benefits of the partnership, Executive Vice President, Jim Kandilas said, “WestView recognized that Shelby’s approach to procurement automation produces measurable outcomes for companies undergoing digital transformation. This investment is not only a statement of confidence, but more broadly, an endorsement of what we see as the Digital Procurement Transformation movement, making this partnership an ideal union.”
“As the leading independent e-procurement consultancy, The Shelby Group has achieved impressive growth as more and more companies transform their procurement operations using cloud-based procurement platforms. We are thrilled to be partnering with John, Jim and the entire Shelby team and to help support the continued development of their service delivery capabilities and proprietary digital solutions,” said Greg Thomas, General Partner at WestView Capital Partners.
Regarding Equiteq’s role in the transaction, Jim Kandilas said, “The Equiteq team professionally managed expectations and deal flow throughout the entire engagement. Their understanding of the unique dynamics of founder-led companies as well as the rigor and requirements of a PE-investment was instrumental to our preparation and execution of a successful outcome. We are glad that we chose Equiteq’s bankers to help us through this very important milestone and are thrilled to welcome WestView as a partner.”
Sam Levy, Equiteq's M&A Director, commented, “It has been a privilege working with Shelby’s team to complete this transaction with WestView. Equiteq’s network of relationships with private equity firms has been instrumental to bring multiple flavors of investors into the process and achieving a positive outcome for all involved. It came down to a win-win-win situation. Equiteq wishes Shelby and WestView's teams a successful future together.”
To see all of our deals, please click here.