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Mitratech, a leading matter management system provider, acquired by private equity firm

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Yesterday, Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a private equity firm with some $6 billion in investments, acquired Mitratech, one of the leading providers of software for law department matter management, e-billing, as well as governance, risk and compliance. The press release says that the capital and management experience of Vista will bring added stability and operational expertise to Mitratech, which has been providing software solutions to legal departments for 24 years.

As part of the acquisition, Eric Thurston will become the new President, replacing Afshin Behnia, who has served as Mitratech’s President and CEO since 2004.

I have no profound insights regarding this major shift in the field of cost control software for inside-counsel. It will take months, even years, to assess the tradeoffs and consequences from the acquisition. On the one hand a family-owned company with years of laser-like focus on a niche market; on the other hand, access to capital, broader managerial experience, and a different level of business discipline. This change in ownership may presage others in the specialized industry (See my post of Nov. 27, 2010: Thomson Reuters acquired Serengeti; and July 27, 2011: major international players have entered the niche, legal department software market.).

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2 responses to “Mitratech, a leading matter management system provider, acquired by private equity firm”

  1. Jeff Hodge says:
    November 1, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    I’m really pleased for the Mitratech family. All of the Behnia’s, from Aresh and Laden to Afshin and others have poured a great deal of blood and sweat into their firm. I, like you, have no crytal ball about the long term impact, but Charles Christian had some thoughts on this topic in his latest edition of the American Legal Technology Insider (Pg 3) found here http://www.legaltechnologyhub.com/CloudBox/alti39.pdf

  2. richard marchand says:
    December 21, 2011 at 11:48 am

    Great for the Behnia family! There’s is a great story. The technology is very good. I can only imagine that more disciplined management with access to capital for R&D will bode well in the months / years ahead.
    Congratulations to Ladan and Afshin for steering the ship these past few years.