America’s richest black person Robert Smith’s firm targets $500 million from event management platform sale

Vista Equity Partners, a global technology investment firm led by America’s richest Black billionaire Robert Smith is considering selling Tripleseat, an easy-to-use sales and event management platform for restaurants, hotels, and unique and special venues.

According to Reuters, people familiar with the matter revealed that the Smith-led technology investment firm is seeking a deal worth up to $500 million for the catering and event management software vendor.

Vista Equity Partners has quickly grown into an industry leader and one of the most active private equity investors in the technology sector, with more than $95 billion in assets and a yearly return of 22 percent since its inception in 2000.

At the time of writing, Smith, who founded the technology investment firm 23 years ago, is worth $12 billion, making him the richest Black person in the United States and the 155th richest man in the world. His net worth has increased by $50 million since the start of the year, from $11.95 billion to $12 billion.

Under the leadership of Smith, the firm continues to use its cash reserves and the recent drop in the valuation of technology companies to acquire stakes in businesses with enormous economic potential.

In March 2020, Vista Equity acquired Tripleseat and merged it with another portfolio company, Gather, which also offers a sales and event management platform. Annual recurring revenue for Tripleseat is around $60 million.

Vista Equity’s recent move to unlock value from its ownership stake in Tripleseat comes less than a month after it announced plans to sell Finastra, a financial technology company, for nearly $7 billion.

The UK-based fintech company is currently carving out its universal banking business — which provides banks and credit unions with essential software to manage core processes — in preparation for a sale, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks.