20 Apr 2023
ICON has advised Sideways 6, an integrated crowdsourcing and idea management platform, on its acquisition by Interact Software, a leading intranet solution provider for enterprise businesses across North America and EMEA.
With a shared passion for employee engagement, improvement and innovation, the joined forces of Sideways 6 and Interact will see more ideas brought to life with improved access to resources and expertise.
Aiming to advance companies through the power of employee ideas, Sideways 6 integrates directly with platforms such as Teams, Workplace and Slack, and powers some of the world’s leading employee ideas programs, including MyContribution at Balfour Beatty, Straight to Stuart at Marks & Spencer and InGenius at Nestlé.
Interact supplies an award-winning intranet platform that boosts productivity and drives engagement to provide an elevated employee experience, with customers including Domino’s, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Levi’s, and Sony PlayStation.
The acquisition comes at a time when enterprises globally are seeking innovative ways to increase employee engagement and attract top talent in a highly competitive labour market.
Commenting on the acquisition, Sideways 6 CEO Will Read, said: “It was a genuine pleasure working with Eddie and the ICON team, whose guidance through the acquisition process was invaluable to us. We are excited to join Interact and be a part of its amazing growth trajectory. With this development, Sideways 6 customers will benefit from our increased access to resources that drive innovation and bring more value to their business.”
Partner at ICON Corporate Finance, Eddie Harding, said: “We are delighted to have helped Will and his team find the right strategic acquirer in Interact. With its aim to bring ideas to life every day, everywhere, from everyone, Sideways 6 has carved out an impressive position in the employee engagement software market. With this deal and its integration with the Interact platform, Sideways 6 can forge on to capitalise on the significant global market opportunity that exists in the space.”
Interact CEO Simon Dance, said: “Sideways 6 is the gold standard integrated employee idea platform that provides companies with real-time data on how their employees are feeling, what they need from their employer and where the business can improve. Our enterprise customers need to harness this information from a variety of sources, and Sideways 6 allows us to easily integrate with existing systems and serve this functionality right alongside the Interact intranet.”
Charles van der Lande and Richard Hopkins of Roxburgh Milkins acted as lawyers for Sideways 6 on the deal.
The transaction bolsters ICON’s extensive track record in the B2B SaaS sphere, having recently advised leading Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider TechQuarters on its acquisition by Babble, and Import.io on its sale to Scaleworks, the B2B SaaS-focused venture equity firm.