$100M investment helps four document technology firms combine into one
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The document technology industry is heating up and undergoing consolidation.
Litéra, Microsystems, XRef and The Sackett Group will be combined into one yet-to-be named business, according to announcements Monday at the International Legal Technology Association Conference in Las Vegas.
According to similar press releases on Litéra’s and Microsystems’’ websites, the move will allow these companies to provide an “end-to-end document solution” for their current list of 1,000 legal and corporate customers.
“The combination will continue to improve workflows for lawyers and corporate counsels worldwide by creating the most comprehensive and robust integrated suite for documents,” Raina Massand, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Litéra, said in a release
K1, a Los Angeles-based investment firm focused on enterprise software that served as the deal’s majority backer, made the deal possible with a $100 million investment. K1 already had a stake in Microsystems, which acquired XRef in 2016. Both companies are known for their Microsoft Word proofreading plug-ins.
The four firms’ ongoing work will not be affected. “All customers and product lines will continue to be supported in order to provide continuity to current clients and also to provide increased opportunities and benefits over time,” reads the release.
“We have been using solutions from Litéra, Microsystems, XRef and The Sackett Group for years,” said Dan Surowiec, global chief innovation officer of Baker McKenzie in Chicago, in a statement. “By bringing these brands together we are excited about the opportunities for even greater innovation alongside the efficiencies of working with one vendor to address our document lifecycle.”
According to Robert Ambrogi, who broke the news, The Sackett Group will be merged into Microsystems over the next 90 days, while Litéra will keep its management structure for the time being.
None of the four companies immediately plan to lay off employees or close offices.
