PageUp Group, a human-resources and talent software company that had been majority-owned by Battery Ventures, has been acquired by global investment firm EQT Group.
Battery had first invested in Australia-based PageUp (co-founded by entrepreneur Karen Cariss) in 2018. And Battery helped scale the company into a global player in the HR sector organically and through three key, add-on acquisitions, pursuing a strategy of disciplined growth that also focused on profitability. Under Battery’s ownership, the SaaS company’s annual recurring revenue more than tripled. Battery General Partner Chelsea Stoner and Principal Dillon Joyce had served on the company’s board. Plus, Battery also worked with Cariss to facilitate the transition to a new global CEO, Mark Rice, and new CFO, Gokhan Turgut, who were instrumental in driving the company’s growth and expansion.
The majority of customers and revenue now comes from outside Australia, specifically the U.S. and U.K. And in the U.S., PageUp is one of the highest-profile providers of talent/recruiting software to large universities, for example. The customers include over 130 higher-education institutions in the U.S., for example, including Drexel University, George Mason University and the University of Toledo.
Along with higher education, PageUp sells its talent-acquisition, recruitment-marketing and talent-management products into other industry sectors with heightened regulatory and audit requirements, including government and healthcare.
KEY QUOTES:
“We could not be more excited to see PageUp reach this milestone, and to start a new growth chapter with EQT. The company’s story is a great example of how bootstrapped software businesses can tap an outside investment partner to scale—and how the founders and executives of those businesses, after years of hard work, can benefit when other investors see value in those businesses as well.”
- Battery’s Chelsea Stoner
“PageUp’s intense focus on customers and industry specialization were key factors fueling the company’s success. Karen, Mark and the whole team helped build PageUp into a robust global enterprise, and we look forward to seeing how the company grows from here.”
- Battery’s Dillon Joyce
“I am extremely proud of what the PageUp team, in partnership with Battery, has accomplished over the past six years. Through our ongoing investment in product innovation and customer service, we are now strongly positioned to accelerate our growth momentum in our focus markets and beyond.”
- Mark Rice
