Sweden-based investment firm EQT and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, or CPP Investments, have agreed to buy the 25-year-old California company. They will acquire the company from private equity firms Warburg Pincus and The Carlyle Group.
Statements posted by NEOGOV and EQT did not mention the deal amount, which came via unnamed sources. But $3 billion could make it the largest gov tech deal on record; Tyler Technologies' buyout of NIC in 2021 was $2.3 billion.
EQT says it expects the deal to close “in the coming months.”
Almost 10,000 public-sector organizations use NEOGOV cloud-native tools, according to the statement, with that tech being used for such tasks as recruiting, onboarding, and performance and compliance management.
“Local governments are the backbone of our communities. Our mission is to help them operate more efficiently and serve citizens more effectively,” said Shane Evangelist, CEO of NEOGOV, in the statement. “Our priorities include advancing product innovation and AI capabilities to help public sector agencies drive increased efficiency and compliance adherence.”
Back in 2021, NEOGOV announced a “growth investment” from Carlyle and Warburg Pincus.
Months later, the government technology firm bought three public safety companies in hopes of offering new products for law enforcement — one of the hottest areas in gov tech, as shown by the $355 million recently raised by First Due.
Emergency communications tech firm Carbyne also recently announced its $100 million funding round, underscoring not only the attractiveness of the public safety space for investors but the ongoing robust health of the gov tech sector.
“We are excited to partner with Shane and the NEOGOV team, who are operators at the highest levels,” said Arvindh Kumar, partner and co-head of EQT’s Global Technology Team, in the statement. “The team brings a deep understanding of the challenges that public sector agencies face, and we’re proud to support a company that has earned such trust in the public sector.”
