Thomson Reuters and TPG have announced a partnership to establish legal tech solution suite Elite as an independent company focusing on legal financial and practice management solutions for law firms.
TPG, which is based in Fort Worth and San Francisco, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Elite from Thomson Reuters. The investment, valued at roughly $500 million, will provide additional resources and enable Elite to operate as a standalone business.
Elite, a business management software vendor for law firms, provides financial and practice management solutions to leading law firms. TPG said the Elite business helps customers automate and streamline critical finance and accounting workflows.
In a statement, TPG Partner Tim Millikin explained the rationale behind the investment, citing the private equity firm’s history of investing in software companies that cater to specific industries. Millikin noted that Elite is well-positioned to take advantage of the ongoing digital transformation in the legal industry and has become a trusted technology partner for leading law firms.
“Elite’s trusted technology, strong customer base, and significant growth potential has made the company a clear leader among the best law firms, and we look forward to working with the team to enhance and expand the platform,” he said.
Elite will continue to maintain existing integrations with Thomson Reuters products.
The deal will enable Elite to operate with greater focus, providing additional resources and expertise to accelerate growth and better support its customers as they digitally transform to meet the evolving needs of their clients, the company said.
Upon closing, TPG Capital, TPG’s U.S. and European late-stage private equity business, will become the majority shareholder of the standalone business.
Thomson Reuters, which has a North Texas office in Carrollton, will retain a minority ownership stake and will have board representation, supporting Elite strategically going forward. Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of business information services whose products include highly specialized information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting and compliance professionals combined with the world’s most global news service – Reuters.
Paul Fischer, President of the Legal Professionals business of Thomson Reuters, expressed confidence in the new investment from TPG, as well as Thomson Reuters’ continued minority ownership and board representation in Elite.
“We remain committed to providing our expertise and experience to help grow Elite while dedicating greater focus and investment in the area of content-enabled technology, including AI and automated workflow solutions, to better enable customers in the practice of law and to perform their work more efficiently,” he said in a statement.
Elite offers a suite of solutions, led by its flagship offering 3E as well as ProLaw, eBillingHub, and MatterSphere, aimed at improving law firm finance and accounting operations, including billing, invoicing, payments, and financial reporting, the companies said.
Closing of the deal is expected in the second quarter this year.
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