Riverside Co on track for 60 deals this year

While terms of the Navex Global deal weren’t disclosed, Riverside co-CEO Stewart Kohl described it as a “blockbuster exit” and one of 12 portfolio company sales so far this year. Kohl met with journalists at the firm’s New York office on Nov 18.

With the sale of its majority stake in Navex, Riverside will hold 78 portfolio companies, compared to 370 portfolio companies in the 25-plus years since the launch of the firm. The firm’s portfolio has generated about 20 percent growth in value this year.

On the acquisition side, Riverside has acquired 15 platforms and 15 add-ons. Combining acquisitions and exits, Riverside Co has bought or sold more than 50 companies this year, with up to about 10 more expected by the end of December.

Among its most recent transactions, Riverside said Nov 17 it paid an undisclosed sum for Fisher/Unitech, a reseller of design software and hardware for 3D printing. Company founders Charlie Hess, CEO, and Greg Fisher, vice president of technology, will remain in their positions at Fisher/Unitech.

Béla Szigethy, co-CEO of Riverside, said the firm continues to find deals for companies with enterprise values of up to $200 million. “We focus on small deals because there’s no end to them,” he said.