14 Dec 2018

ICON Corporate Finance, a specialist in Technology M&A, has advised Silverbear, a leading membership software and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions provider, on its sale to ClearCourse Partnership, backed by New York based, PE house Aquiline Capital.

Originally launched as a CRM integration and development business in 2000, Silverbear later transitioned to a provider of integrated management solutions for the membership and trade association sectors. The Microsoft Dynamics ISV continues to grow and has implemented digital transformation programmes for more than 65 organisations, with over four million members using its flagship Silverbear Membership product.

ClearCourse Partnership LLP, a partnership that is seeking to acquire innovative technology companies providing membership software and services to groups, organisations and businesses, today announced its acquisition of Silverbear. ClearCourse is backed by Aquiline Capital Partners, a New York and London-based private equity firm investing in businesses globally across the financial services and technology sectors.

Mark Travis, Founder at Silverbear, said “This exciting partnership with ClearCourse will allow us to continue providing new and innovative solutions to the membership management space at a rate that is more in line with our ambitious growth plans. We now look forward to leveraging the capabilities of the ClearCourse platform, expanding our offer to new and prospective customers and delivering our next stage of growth”.

Brian Parker, Head of M&A at ICON who led the transaction, commented “The exit process took less than 4 months from engagement to completion. That is despite having serious interest from several overseas acquirers keen to expand in this fast consolidating sector. We are delighted that Silverbear chose ClearCourse who (with the backing of US based PE fund Aquiline Partners) have impressive plans to expand via acquisition in the membership space".

Gerry Gualtieri, Chief Executive Officer of ClearCourse, added, “The acquisition of Silverbear is an important milestone for ClearCourse as we continue to develop our platform. We aim to provide Silverbear, and companies like it, with the resources and support they need for continued growth and further our ultimate goal of bringing together the best-in-class membership management and payments software solutions in the UK market.”