Arma Partners advises Wolters Kluwer on €425 million Brightflag acquisition
Global information services company Wolters Kluwer has acquired Brightflag, an Irish provider of legal spend and matter management software for in-house legal departments. The deal was advised on by Arma Partners.
Founded in 2014, Brightflag is an AI-powered legal operations platform designed to streamline matter management, control legal spend, and enhance collaboration between corporate legal departments and outside counsel. The company has grown rapidly over the past years to its current size of 155 full-time employees.
As part of the deal, which will see Wolters Kluwer splash out approximately €425 million in cash, Brightflag will become part of the company’s Legal & Regulatory division.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, Wolters Kluwer is one of the largest information services companies for professionals in the legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare markets.
“Today’s legal professionals require innovative solutions that drive greater efficiency while optimizing their legal matters and spend,” said Martin O’Malley, CEO of Wolters Kluwer’s Legal & Regulatory division. “We are excited to welcome Brightflag – together we will continue to lead the way in AI-powered legal technology tailored to the evolving demands of corporate legal departments.”
With most of its revenues coming from the mid-size corporations, and the US market (around 60%), Brightflag will complement Wolters Kluwer’s traditional business, which is more skewed towards large corporations and their law firms.
The acquisition was supported by Arma Partners, which acted as exclusive financial advisor to Wolters Kluwer. London-based Arma Partners is an award-winning M&A consultancy firm that is dedicated to the digital and technology sectors, with a track record of 340+ closed deals since its inception in 2003.
Meanwhile, for Brightflag, the joining of forces with the global information services giant will enable it to accelerate its growth track and speed up investments in its platform.
Ian Nolan, CEO and Co-Founder of Brightflag said: “Since our founding, Brightflag has been committed to revolutionizing legal spend and matter management through AI-driven innovation. Wolters Kluwer shares our vision for leveraging advanced technology to enhance legal operations, and we look forward to working with the Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory team to accelerate the future of legal solutions.”
