Alfresco Software Purchased By Private Equity Firm, Aims To Have Company Growth Outpace Market

Alfresco Software, a developer of open-source enterprise content and business process management applications, agreed Thursday to an acquisition by Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Alfresco CMO Sydney Sloan told CRN the deal makes sense from a strategic perspective, as it will infuse the company with cash to scale in a competitive market that's in transition.

With funding from the private equity firm, Alfresco will be in a stronger position to disrupt that business process automation market faster than it already is doing, she said.

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"The strategy for growth is one that T H Lee invested in. It's Alfresco's strategy as well. Growing faster than the market, that is the continued plan," Sloan told CRN.

"From the perspective of our customers and partners, it's business as usual," she added.

The private equity firm has a track record of expanding the market opportunity for companies it invests in, Sloan said.

"That is the investment strategy they follow," Sloan said of Thomas H. Lee Partners, adding the private equity firm had been eyeing the market for awhile before making an offer to Alfresco.

The software company, founded in 2005 with dual headquarters in San Mateo, Calif. and Maidenhead, U.K., has more than 1,300 customers using its cloud-based platform for managing content and automating business processes. Those customers include Cisco Systems, Bank of NY Mellon, Liberty Mutual, Capital One, U.S. Department of the Navy and NASA, according to a statement.

Alfresco has been focused in recent years on scaling its channel efforts after introducing a new partner program in 2016 with the goal of driving more revenue through partners.