Bullhorn Acquires Talent Rover and Jobscience

Deal Financials

Transaction Overview

• On March 13, 2018, staffing software provider Bullhorn announced that it has acquired two Force.com-native staffing and recruiting software platforms, Talent Rover and Jobscience.
• These transactions follow Bullhorn’s acquisition of Force.com-native Connexys BV, a Dutch applicant tracking software provider, in September 2017.

A Case Study in Ecosystem-Driven Strategy

• Before the Salesforce platform had generated multiple billion-dollar success stories, heavy reliance on it was considered risky. As outlined in TBP’s recent M&A Trends in the Salesforce Ecosystem report, Force.com-native companies like Veeva, Apttus, FinancialForce, and ServiceMax have since generated billion-dollar Enterprise Values and demonstrated the potential of the platform.
• However, it is becoming clearer that in a poly-cloud environment, SaaS companies need to also have their own stacks in addition to their applications built on top of PaaS offerings from Salesforce.com, SAP, Oracle, or ServiceNow.
• By acquiring Force.com-native companies, Bullhorn is playing out the poly-cloud strategy, having its independent technology stack while simultaneously maintaining other platforms on top of the Force.com PaaS offering.
• Separately, the private equity firm backing Bullhorn, Insight Venture Partners, used a similar approach last year. Its portfolio company Community Brands acquired Force.com-native association management software provider NimbleAMS in April 2017.

Expansion Beyond CRM in the Salesforce Ecosystem

• Despite Salesforce’s acquisition of Rypple in 2011 and the emergence of several Force.com unicorns, HCM offerings on the platform have remained limited. Bullhorn’s transactions represent a significant investment in building out a portfolio of HCM-related offerings on the Salesforce platform to fill this gap.
• Recently, Kenandy and Rootstock Software, two Force.com-native companies, merged to create a comprehensive MRP offering on the platform to fill a similar gap. Meanwhile, FinancialForce provides comprehensive ERP functionality.
• Driving these expansions are continuous investments in the Salesforce ecosystem. Totaling over $1 billion, these investments include TBP’s recent co-investments with Salesforce Ventures in Simplus and Full Circle Insights.

Staffing and Recruiting Software Transactions

TBP was NOT an advisor to this transaction.