New private equity backers acquired a majority stake in Houston-based restaurant technology company HungerRush, which bought Leawood-based Menufy last year.
Corsair, a New York-based private equity firm focused on business services, software and payments investments in financial services, acquired the majority stake from Houston-based private equity firm The CapStreet Group, the companies announced Wednesday. The CapStreet Group is continuing as a minority investor in HungerRush.
Through the investment, Corsair aims to leverage its experience in building payments and software companies to grow and enhance HungerRush's point-of-sale technology for restaurants. Perry Turbes, CEO of HungerRush, will continue to lead the firm, while company shareholders and members of the management team will roll portions of their equity value into the deal. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
When it bought Menufy in October 2021, HungerRush said it would retain Menufy’s local office and employees. The Leawood company's local employee base was roughly 150 in January, and it plans to hire at least 20 to 30 more this year across the board in roles such as engineering, sales, marketing and customer/tech support.
“I think this is going to be the next phase of Menufy’s growth, and I think it’s going to be good for Kansas City,” Menufy co-founder and CEO Sharmil Desai told the Kansas City Business Journal when the company was acquired in 2021.
Menufy develops e-commerce offerings and can integrate its technology with existing restaurant websites and point-of-sale systems.
"Corsair’s investment and partnership provides an opportunity for HungerRush to capitalize on organic and inorganic growth opportunities, enhance our product offerings and go-to-market strategy and continue to support clients with comprehensive payment and restaurant management solutions that are individually tailored to their values and business goals," Turbes said.
Founded in 2003, HungerRush primarily works with operators of quick service and fast casual restaurants with services like digital ordering, payment processing, customer engagement and delivery management.
Last year, the restaurant-focused tech firm also gobbled up 9Fold, a software developer for online ordering and digital marketing. In 2020, HungerRush acquired OrderAI, a provider of text and voice ordering technology.
"HungerRush is at the forefront of digital transformation in the restaurant industry," said Corsair Partner Jeremy Schein. "We see tremendous growth potential given its highly differentiated technology architecture, impressive sales momentum and customer pipeline and numerous upsell and cross-sell opportunities."
Corsair was represented by Raymond James as financial adviser and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel during the transaction. HungerRush and CapStreet were represented by William Blair as financial adviser and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as legal adviser. Corsair has invested $12 billion through its global buyouts and infrastructure platforms, the firm said.
