US Bridge Point acquired the Israeli Qualitetest for an estimated $ 420 million

The private US investment fund Bridge Point acquired control of the Israeli Qualitet from another US fund - Merlin Equity Partners; The purchaser announced today. The deal was not disclosed, but market sources estimated it at $ 420 million. The figure represents a multiple of five times for the seller.
Qualitast is a software testing and quality assurance company established in 1998 by Eli Margolin and Eyal Zilberman. It is considered the second largest QA company in the world. In recent years, Qualitast has established its software testing activity on automation and artificial intelligence. Last year, it released an advanced testing solution for the Internet world of things and an automated testing solution for Blockchine.
In addition to operations in Israel, which is located in Petah Tikva, the company has branches in the United States, Britain and India. In total, it employs more than 3,000 workers, about half of them in Israel. Its customers include Sky, Microsoft and Fuji.
Objective: To expand the company's acquisition strategy. In September 2016, the US investment fund Merlin acquired control of QualiTest - 75% of the company's shares at a value of NIS 300 million.
Qualitest said that part of the current acquisition will be invested to expand its acquisition strategy, develop products and invest in human capital.
Norm Merritt, CEO, said, "We found Bridge Point a partner in our growth. Its members are investors who want to work with strong management teams, and have a history of investing in markets with high growth potential. Their long-term financial outlook will enable us to accelerate growth and move on to the next stage in implementing the global purchasing strategy. "
Javier Robert, the investment manager at Bridge Point, said, "We share the ambitions of Qoletst's management to expand, with a combination of organic growth with mergers and acquisitions, in a structured and growing market where new technologies disrupt every industry and industry. Qualitist is up to this task. "
Bridge Point estimates that the market in which Qualitet operates is growing at a rate of 13% annually. This is because organizations need software testing because software has become a critical component of their business operations. The global outsourcing market is valued at $ 32 billion,