1
Q4 2020
Sector
Update
Software
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2
Apaczka
ACQUIRED BY
Abris Capital
iCIMS
GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm highly focused on the SaaS sector.
After a tumultuous year punctuated by macro events that affected us all, we enter 2021 hopeful that there may be an end in sight to the pandemic.
COVID-19 has completely altered the landscape in which we live and work, and that has had a profound impact on the software ecosystem.
There were clear winners and losers from a vertical standpoint. However, the shift to digital that came from becoming more 'remote' and 'virtual' is
here to stay, and software companies are set to be the big beneficiaries of this trend. We saw deal activity pick-up significantly in Q3 and Q4 2020,
representing the bullish outlook of many software businesses keen to add products and services that will build-out their offerings in the new world we
live in. Salesforce's acquisition of Slack is the best example of this, bringing a COVID-19 winner into the Salesforce ecosystem and building out its
platform of cloud offerings designed to keep customers using more Salesforce products for longer.
We expect significant appetite for inorganic growth in 2021 as public valuations continue to increase, leading to more affordable deals and private
companies raising larger rounds to capitalise on COVID-19 tailwinds. We also expect to see a number of SaaS businesses go public to capitalise on
soaring investor demand and public valuations, with companies such as UiPath, Thoughtspot and Databricks looking to ride the digital transformation
mega trend. Assuming we continue to progress in an efficient manner towards the end of COVID-19, 2021 could be a blockbuster year for SaaS and
enterprise software companies globally.
Software perspectives
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EasyRecrue
ACQUIRED BY
Oxbotica
INVESTMENT