GoCanvas Holdings Inc., a software firm based in Reston that creates mobile apps and online forms used by field workers across industries, is set to be acquired by Munich, Germany-based construction software provider The Nemetschek Group in a deal valued at more than $770 million.
The deal, announced Thursday and expected to close by the end of this summer, will result in a significant return for GoCanvas owner K1 Investment Management, a Los Angeles private equity group that acquired GoCanvas for more than $100 million in 2018.
Pending regulatory approval, The Nemetschek Group will acquire all shares of GoCanvas for an amount 11.5 times the rate of GoCanvas' 2023 annual recurring revenue of $67 million.
GoCanvas was founded in 2008 as Canvas and rebranded as GoCanvas in 2017. Co-founder James Quigley led the company as CEO until 2021, when he was replaced by current CEO Viyas Sundaram. The company was struggling at the time as the pandemic slowed construction and weakened demand for its software, and Sundaram is credited with overseeing the development of a new compliance product for the software-as-a-service industry that has since become a key revenue driver.
"Viyas Sundaram and the entire 300-person team led this last amazing march of growth and innovation," Quigley, who has served on the board since stepping down as CEO, said in a statement. "I am so proud of what the team and Viyas have done and proud of their success."
GoCanvas' products, especially those relating to the inspection, compliance and safety of data collected from field workers, are expected complement those from Nemetschek's Bluebeam brand, which aids architects, construction workers and engineers by providing tools that allow for better collaboration on work relating to the design and planning stages of development projects.
Quigley will leave the company after the deal closes and Sundaram will continue to lead GoCanvas, which will retain its brand for the foreseeable future.
In an interview, Sundaram said that all 300 employees, including 40 at its Reston Town Center headquarters, will be retained. He added that he expects the local workforce to increase as a result of the acquisition.
"We are one of those great homegrown stories," Sundaram said. "We have, in my mind, navigated one of most historic turnarounds in the tech community… culminating in this amazing partnership with the second largest construction software company in the world."
