ECi Software Solutions Acquired by The Carlyle Group

Global Alternative Asset Manager to Support ECi’s Growth, Commitment to Small and Medium Size Businesses

 

ECi Software Solutions (www.ECiSolutions.com), a leader in industry‐specific business management and e‐commerce software solutions, announced it has been acquired by global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

ECi Software Solutions is a leading provider of industry‐specific business management and e‐commerce software for growing and midsize companies in a broad variety of industries, including office products,office furniture, office equipment, lumber/building materials, hardware, manufacturing, retail distribution and many more. ECi combines technological innovation with a dedicated customer focus to deliver fully integrated solutions that fuel the expansion and efficiency of every aspect of customers’ operations.

 

ʺWe are very happy to partner with The Carlyle Group to continue building our leading industry‐specific business and e‐commerce solutions across a variety of important industries,” said Ron Books, President and CEO of ECi Software Solutions. “Carlyle is committed to investing in ECi as we support the entrepreneurial spirit and profitable growth of small and medium size enterprises. I am confident that with Carlyle, we have made the right choice for the future of our employees, our customers, and our business partners.”

 

Charles Rossotti, Carlyle Operating Executive, said, “ECi has developed a proven and effective capacity to provide small and medium size enterprises with technology solutions that make them competitive with much larger businesses. We believe this capacity is a very special asset for the global economy, in which small businesses generate so much innovation and job growth.”

 

Steve Bailey, Carlyle Managing Director, added, “Carlyle’s investment will enable ECi to continue investing in its great people, delivering exceptional customer service, enhancing the functionality and features of its leading solutions, and expanding its global footprint.”

 

Equity for the investment came from Carlyle U.S. Equity Opportunity Fund, which is a Carlyle fund
focused on middle market investments. Carlyle has a long history of successful investments in leading middle market, industry‐specific application software solutions companies, including Compusearch, serving the government sector; Gemcom, serving the mining sector; Primatics, serving the financial services sector; Quorum, serving the energy sector; RMI, serving the rail sector; and SchoolNet, serving the education sector. Other select middle market investments include Dynamic Precision Group, an aerospace component manufacturer; Philadelphia Energy Solutions (formerly Sunoco Refinery); Service King, the third largest collision repair multi‐shop operator in the United States; and Worldstrides, a provider of educational student travel programs.

 

ECi was advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Harris Williams & Co., and Carlyle was advised by Latham & Watkins LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

 

About ECi
The ECi Software Solutions family of companies provides business and e‐commerce solutions, offering onpremise and cloud‐based technologies. For 30+ years, ECi’s companies have served the manufacturing, office equipment, office supplies, contract office furniture, lumber and building materials, hardware and janitorial/sanitation sectors. Privately held, ECi is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, with offices and companies throughout the U.S., Australia, England and the Netherlands. For information, email info@ecisolutions.com, visit www.ECiSolutions.com, or call (800) 959‐3367.
 

ECI

Traci Johnson, SVP Global Corporate Marketing

800‐959‐3367 x23276

tjohnson@ecisolutions.com

 

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $189 billion of assets under management across 118 funds and 100 fund of funds vehicles as of December 31, 2013.  Carlyleʹs purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,500 people in 34 offices across six continents.

The Carlyle Group
Elizabeth Gill
+1-202-729-5385
Elizabeth.gill@carlyle.com

ECi M1 Announces Partnership with Global Software, Inc.

Microsoft Excel automation tools enhance ECi M1 reporting experience

ECi Software Solutions, a leader in industry-specific information technology solutions, announced a new partnership between Global Software Inc. and the official launch of the ECi M1 Advanced Financial Reporting tool.

This partnership with M1 enables customers to use live M1 financial data, with powerful drill-down capability to the lowest level of detail. Global Software’s Spreadsheet Server tool unlocks the financial data held in an ERP solution. Simple to install and use, M1 users can leverage spreadsheet functionality while ensuring the integrity of critical financial data is maintained. 

“M1 Advanced Financial Reporting has numerous benefits; it combines reporting, account inquiry, and journal inquiry into one application as well as eliminates the need to download or re-key/export spreadsheet data,” says Daniel Noonan, Managing Director of ECi M1. “This new partnership with Global Software, Inc. further demonstrates our focus on helping manufacturing businesses to succeed.  We have integrated their tool with M1 and now our customers can enjoy further efficiencies in their business. Initial customer feedback has been entirely positive. We are pleased that our M1 users can now quickly retrieve and manipulate data within a desktop tool everyone is familiar with—Microsoft Excel.”

“We are excited to work with the team at ECi M1,” says Spencer Kupferman, Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Affairs at Global Software, Inc. “ECi has built a comprehensive ERP system and, in conjunction with Spreadsheet Server, ECi M1 customers now have access to a powerful Microsoft® Excel-based tool that is already used by over 5,000 businesses globally.” 

About Global Software, Inc.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Global Software Inc. has established itself as the no.1 worldwide provider of Microsoft® Excel-based automation tools. For almost 40 years it has worked with leading ERP systems in the world. Global Software Inc, supports over 5000 businesses in 39 different countries. For more information, please visit www.glbsoft.com. 

About ECi

ECi Software Solutions provides best-in-industry business and e-commerce software solutions for growing companies. For more than 30 years, ECi has served the manufacturing, office equipment, managed print services, office supplies, contract office furniture, business intelligence, lumber and building materials, hardware and jan/san sectors. Privately held, ECi is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, with offices throughout the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and the Netherlands. For more information, email info@ecisolutions.com, visit www.ECiSolutions.com, or call (800) 959-3367.