Francisco Partners invests in PayLease

Francisco Partners has backed PayLease, an online payments provider for the property management and home owner association industry. Existing investor Mainsail Partners as well as PayLease founders and management will retain ownership stakes in the company.

PRESS RELEASE

PayLease, the leading online payments provider for the property management and home owner association (“HOA”) industry, today announced a majority investment from Francisco Partners, a global technology-focused private equity firm. The investment will provide PayLease with a capital partner to support the company’s continued growth and product innovation. Existing investor Mainsail Partners as well as PayLease founders and management will retain ownership stakes in the company.
PayLease has grown substantially in recent years as property managers and HOAs increasingly seek to enable a variety of online payments and seamlessly integrate them into core accounting systems. The new capital from Francisco Partners will allow PayLease to continue to expand product capabilities, customer service levels and distribution.
“We are extremely excited to announce this investment by Francisco Partners,” commented Dave Dutch, CEO of PayLease. “This transaction will not only provide us capital but also a supportive partner who has tremendous experience working with high-growth companies such as ours.”
Francisco Partners has been increasingly active in the electronic payments industry and identified PayLease not only as the emerging payments leader in the property management sector but also one of the few integrated PaaS platforms to have already reached critical mass.
Peter Christodoulo, a Principal of Francisco Partners, commented, “PayLease’s integrated payments solutions provide substantial value for property managers as well as residents. We are thrilled to back Dave Dutch and his team as they continue to innovate and expand product and service capabilities.”
Raymond James & Associates acted as financial advisor and Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, LLP acted as legal advisor to PayLease. Deutsche Bank Securities acted as financial advisor and Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP acted as legal advisor to Francisco Partners. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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ABOUT PAYLEASE
PayLease is the leading online payments provider for the property management industry, specifically targeting the multifamily, single family, HOA and commercial markets with its Payments-as-a-Service (“PaaS”) platform. PayLease provides property managers the ability to accept and manage rent payments and HOA payments through a secure online interface. With PayLease, residents are able to pay their property manager using an E-check, a credit card or with cash from a retail location. Since its inception in 2003, PayLease has grown to serve thousands of property management companies nationwide and is among the fastest growing technology companies in the United States.

ABOUT FRANCISCO PARTNERS
Francisco Partners is a global private equity firm which focuses on information technology. Since its launch over a decade ago, FP has raised approximately $7 billion and invested in more than 100 technology companies, making it one of the most active investors in the industry. The firm invests in transaction values ranging from $50 million to over $2 billion, where the firm’s deep sub-sector knowledge and operational expertise can help a company realize its full potential. In particular, this transaction highlights the strength of FP’s growing financial technology franchise, which has included investments in companies such as Prosper Marketplace, eFront, Paymetric, Avangate, Hypercom, Allston Trading and GXS.

ABOUT MAINSAIL PARTNERS
Mainsail Partners is a leading growth equity firm that invests exclusively in growing and profitable bootstrapped businesses and builds them into industry leaders. The San Francisco-based firm has raised nearly $400 million in committed capital to back outstanding entrepreneurs. Mainsail has been leading investments in software and technology-enabled companies for more than a decade, including investments in eSecuritel, Netchemia, PayLease, Steelwedge Software and Zen Planner.