SYSPRO has announced that Phil Duff, Co-Founder, Executive Chairman and former CEO, will retire in September. He will step away from the firm as Advent International (Advent) acquires the majority stake in the global ERP vendor. Advent is one of the world’s largest and most experienced private equity investors. It has deep experience in investing in ERP firms. Those investments include Certinia, IFS and Unit4.
Advent has deep experience in the Manufacturing sector, having invested $21 billion over the last 33 years. Recent investments include:
- Skala, a Brazilian haircare brand (Feb 2024);
- MyPOS, a provider of payment solutions (Feb 2024);
- Baxter, a provider of sterile contract manufacturing solutions, parenteral delivery systems and customized support services to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries (Sep 2023).
Mike Ettling, CEO of UNIT4, whom Advent brought in after it acquired the firm, will become the chairman of SYSPRO. Interestingly, the wording of the announcement, “presently the CEO of Unit4”, might indicate that he will soon be focusing on board roles. Is Unit4 looking for a new CEO?
SYSPRO was founded in 1978 and now has 400 employees with customers across 6 continents. It has headquarters in the UK and South Africa. Jaco Maritz, CEO, will continue in the role he has held since 2022. He said, “This partnership not only validates our strategic realignment but also provides us with the resources and expertise to further strengthen our position in the global market. We are excited about the opportunities this collaboration will bring and remain committed to delivering exceptional manufacturing and distribution software solutions to our customers worldwide.”
One era ends as another starts
The transaction is likely to close in Q3, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Duff will retire from the company at the end of September. He has overseen the growth at Syspro over the last 46 years. He provided visionary leadership for much of that time, also transitioning the firm into the cloud era.
Phil Duff, Co-Founder of SYSPRO, said, “I have been at the helm of SYSPRO for 46 years and have worked with incredible teams of people, customers, and partners across the globe. As the company enters a new era, I’m confident Advent can foster continued growth and innovation.”
For Advent, this is a rare find. Private, successful companies of this scale are rare. What is good news for customers and employees is that it seems likely that Advent will provide the funds to accelerate product development and innovation. As well as drive growth through investment into key markets such as the UK and the US.
Douglas Hallstrom, Director at Advent International, said, “We have been following SYSPRO for some time and are delighted to support the company into a new phase of ambitious innovation and growth acceleration.”
Christian Braunfisch, Assistant Director at Advent International, added, “It is unique to find an established business like SYSPRO with such meaningful potential for further growth. We are excited to bring Advent’s expertise in enterprise application software to support Jaco and the SYSPRO team in building a long-term global category leader.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
SYSPRO has long been recognised as a significant player in the ERP market. With the backing of Advent, it will be interesting to see how the company develops. Where will it invest funds, and what direction will it take? With Epicor also seeing new investors this week, there could be some interesting changes in the ERP market in months to come.
