A New York private equity firm has acquired a 10-year-old technology company in Raleigh.
Webonise, a global technology product development and services firm, has been bought out by Pearl Street Equity. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Webonise CEO and co-founder Rob Katz said the move liquidated early investors, including Red Hat (NYSE: IBM) co-founder Bob Young.
The key to successfully securing the exit? Not focusing on an exit too early, Katz said. Instead, the firm was heads down, building a business.
“You have to build a business that delivers value and can be sustainable, and then you set yourself up for a position where you have options,” he said.
The firm connected with Pearl Street through its working relationships, and discussions escalated over the past few months.
“It felt like the right fit,” Katz said.
The company explored a variety of potential exit options, and Pearl Street is the acquirer that got the vision.
“We were just looking at, how do we keep growing, and what gives us the right infrastructure and ability to grow,” he said.
Pearl recognized what Webonise could do and how it could grow, Katz said. The company has more than 200 employees worldwide and about 10 in Raleigh’s North Hills.
Webonise builds digital products as well as proprietary SaaS business-to-business tools and platforms across several areas, from robotic process automation to software development to iGaming.
The company picked Raleigh as what was then one of two headquarters back in 2013. At the time, the firm said it was all about talent – something that still rings true.
Katz said the team will be expanding with the Pearl wallet – and that the plan includes Raleigh.
“A big part of this is, we are looking at how do we scale the team across all of our different practice areas and certainly Raleigh has been a tremendous place for us to start the business and grow the business,” he said.
