Sumeru Equity puts MDSL for sale

Sumeru Equity Partners is looking for a buyer for expense-management tech company MDSL, three sources familiar with the process told Buyouts.

The process has passed first-round bids, one source said.

William Blair is advising MDSL on the sale, the people said.

MDSL, of Phoenix, Arizona, provides technology expense management and market data management through a unified platform. The company’s technology covers categories including telecoms, cloud services, the Internet of Things (IoT) and financial market data.

Sumeru acquired MDSL in July 2017 and simultaneously combined it with its portfolio company Telesoft, which the firm owned for roughly a year at that time. Telesoft, a specialist in communications expense and mobility management software, has become a part of MDSL brand as part of the acquisition.

MDSL generated $25 million in cash Ebitda, the sources said. Sumeru is looking to fetch $350 million, or 14x Ebitda, for the company, they said.

Sumeru Equity Partners is a technology-focused, middle-market private equity firm founded in 2014 by a group of investors and operators from Silver Lake Sumeru, a $1.1 billion fund started in 2007 within Silver Lake.

The firm makes control and minority investments between $25 million and $200 million.

Sumeru invests out of Sumeru Equity Partners Fund III. In 2018, the firm set a $600 million target for its third vehicle, according to an SEC filing.

Most recently, Buyouts reported that Sumeru has put Cybera, a provider of cloud-based security and network services for widely distributed enterprises, on the block.

Spokespeople for Sumeru Equity and MDSL did not return requests for comment.

Action Item: Contact George Kadifa, Sumeru’s lead managing director on MDSL investment.