European late stage private equity firm TPG has agreed to buy a majority stake in Thomson Reuters Elite at a valuation of $500 million. The announcement was made internally at Elite today (4 April).
Thomson Reuters will keep a minority stake and board representation in Elite and continue to support it with its legal information products.
The acquisition means that 3E as well as ProLaw, eBillingHub, and MatterSphere will be majority owned by TPG. Elite will maintain existing integrations with Thomson Reuters products.
A formal announcement out today says that the transaction will enable Elite to operate with greater focus, providing additional resources and expertise to accelerate growth and better support its customers.
One TR employee told Legal IT Insider that there has been frustration internally with the lack of progress in moving firms to the cloud on 3E and a desire to focus on subscription-based content rather than software. The news is likely to be welcomed within Elite, which has for a long time appeared to be in a state of flux and subject to continual restructuring within the wider TR organisation.
“We feel strongly that the new investment from TPG, along with Thomson Reuters minority ownership and board representation, will position Elite to ensure our customers’ continued success,” said Paul Fischer, president of the Legal Professionals business of Thomson Reuters. “We remain committed to providing our expertise and experience to help grow Elite while dedicating greater focus and investment in the area of content-enabled technology, including AI and automated workflow solutions, to better enable customers in the practice of law and to perform their work more efficiently.”
“TPG has a history of investing in software companies that address the unique needs of vertical markets. We believe the legal industry is a market that is undergoing digital transformation, and Elite partners with leading firms on that journey,” said Tim Millikin, Partner at TPG. “Elite’s trusted technology, strong customer base, and significant growth potential has made the company a clear leader among the best law firms, and we look forward to working with the team to enhance and expand the platform.”
Baker McKenzie is serving as legal counsel to Thomson Reuters, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal counsel to TPG.
We will continue to update this breaking news story.