Edison Partners Exits Digital Customer Education Leader Northpass to Gainsight

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07/11/2023 - 10:34 AM

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Edison Partners, the growth equity investment firm, today announced the sale of portfolio company Northpass to Gainsight, the world’s leading Customer Success platform and a Vista Equity Partners portfolio company. The transaction generated a strong return for Edison. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Parsippany, N.J.-based Northpass is a recognized leader in digital customer education, helping mid-market and enterprise companies deliver engaging and effective customer experiences and optimize operational efficiency through digital learning. Edison Partners has been the company’s first and sole institutional investor since 2019. Since initial investment, the company grew annual recurring revenue by more than 4x, powering digital customer academies for nearly 350 customers and 5,000,000 learners with iconic brands, including Walmart, in addition to growth businesses, like Pipedrive and Freshworks. Last month, the company won Best Customer Education Learning Management System of 2023 as part of the annual SIIA (Software & Information Industry Association) CODiE Awards. Northpass also ranks as an industry leader in G2, the world’s largest and most trusted software marketplace.

“Over the last four years, Northpass has developed a truly innovative and highly flexible customer education solution that B2B organizations rely on to drive growth, engagement and efficiencies,” said Kelly Ford, General Partner and COO of Edison Partners, who served on the company’s board of directors. “We are pleased to see Steve Cornwell and team’s work be recognized with this strategic acquisition by the founder of the Customer Success movement.”

“Edison Partners provided us with not only financial support, but also strategic, industry and operating expertise to grow our team, accelerate our go to market, and strengthen our competitive position,” said Steve Cornwell, Northpass Founder and CEO. “The thoughtful guidance of the Edison team and board director Colin Day (iCIMS founder and former CEO) has positioned us well for powering the next chapter of growth with Gainsight.”

Northpass marks Edison Partners’ third exit to private equity firms or private equity-backed companies in the last 12 months. Since its inception in 1986, Edison Partners has invested in more than 260 companies, a third of which have been in the enterprise solutions space. Edison has completed more than 215 total exits, including recent notable events of Budderfly (Partners Group), Capital Rx, Gambling Group (NASDAQ: GAMB), GoHenry (Acorns), TripleLift (Vista Equity Partners), and more.

About Edison Partners
For 37 years, Edison Partners has been helping CEOs and their executive teams grow and scale their companies. The firm’s investment team brings more than 275 years of combined investing and operating experience to each investment. Through a unique combination of growth capital and the Edison Edge platform, consisting of operating centers of excellence, executive education programs, and the Edison Director Network, Edison employs a truly integrated approach to accelerating growth and creating value for businesses. With experts in enterprise solutions, financial technology and healthcare IT, Edison targets high-growth companies located outside Silicon Valley with $10 million to $30 million in revenue. Investments also include buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts, and secondary stock purchases. Named as a Top Growth Investment Firm by GrowthCap for two years running, Edison’s active portfolio has created aggregated market value exceeding $10 billion. Edison Partners manages $1.6 billion in assets. For more information on Edison Partners, please visit edisonpartners.com and follow on LinkedIn.