Following up on its $500 million purchase of e-Builder in February, Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) recently announced a deal to spend more than twice that on Viewpoint Construction Software. This transaction, which sees Trimble paying $1.2 billion to acquire Viewpoint from Bain Capital, is reportedly the largest-ever acquisition of a Portland, Ore.-based technology business and stands as one of the more prominent recent deals in the construction technology sector.
Viewpoint, which provides a host of cloud-based, on-premise and mobile software applications for the construction industry, including ERP, accounting, project management, BI and collaboration capabilities, is expected to complement Trimble’s existing portfolio nicely. Where e-Builder serves the capital program owner, Viewpoint focuses on the contractor and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) side of construction project management, allowing Trimble to broaden its offering and touch additional use cases as well as further establishing Trimble as the digital leader in the construction industry. By entrusting Trimble with its approximately 8,000 customers, Viewpoint ensures that its software applications will fit into a highly successful and versatile platform.
Trimble expects Viewpoint to contribute $200 million in revenue in 2019, implying a 6.0x 2019 revenue valuation for the business. The deal also marks Trimble’s 12th acquisition since the start of 2017, demonstrating the company’s dedication to keeping up with its competition by identifying successful businesses to extend its existing product portfolio. Some have pointed at Q1’18 as a return to health for the technology M&A market after a disappointing 2017, and deals like this remind us that strategic acquirers are still hungry for high-quality assets.