Waud Capital eyes $150 mln commitment to build HR tech company

Waud Capital Partners committed $150 million to build an HR software company around Philippe Ozanian, former CEO of Infovista, the firm told Buyouts.

Ozanian will help identify an HR technology company to acquire and will later lead this company as a CEO and board member.

“We already have identified hundreds of targets and we will work with Philippe to decide what company represents the most attractive and exciting investment opportunity,” Justin DuPere, partner at Waud Capital, told Buyouts.

Waud Capital first identifies a market to invest in, then finds a CEO with applicable skills and experience, and after, together with the CEO, selects a company to acquire and build, according to DuPere.

“This is all about partnering with the best executives and putting them in the sectors that we think are very attractive,” he said.

HR technology market is roughly $50 billion in size, according to Ozanian. At the same time, this market is fragmented and presents a good opportunity for consolidation, Ozanian said.

“[HR] market is completely transformed by new technologies and we are at the beginning of this transformation, I mean—AI, process learning, data, analytics—all of it significantly transforms this humongous market,” Ozanian said.

The firm latest fund, Waud Capital Fund IV, closed on roughly $1 billion in February 2016.

Waud Capital Partners, based in Chicago, Illinois, makes control equity investments of $50 million to $200 million in technology, healthcare services, and business services companies.

Action Item: Contact Justin DuPere at JDuPere@waudcapital.com