Norwest Equity Partners Recapitalizes Surgical Information Systems with Accel-KKR, Maintains Minority Ownership Stake for Continued Growth

Norwest Equity Partners ("NEP"), a leading middle market investment firm founded in 1961, has completed a recapitalization of its investment interest in Surgical Information Systems (SIS), the industry leader for business and clinical surgical software for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospitals, to Accel-KKR ("AKKR"), a leading technology-focused investment firm. Post-transaction, NEP will invest alongside AKKR and retain a minority ownership stake in SIS. The transaction closed October 15, 2020; financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1996, SIS provides business office management, clinical documentation, and patient communications tools that meet the unique needs of ASCs and is a leading provider of anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) and perioperative solutions to hospitals and outpatient surgery departments. NEP first partnered with SIS in 2010, seeing an opportunity to invest in an industry leader and software solutions innovator. Tim Kuehl, NEP Partner, stated, "It has been exciting to see SIS' rapid growth and product delivery, and we look forward to continuing our investment alongside AKKR's majority position to accelerate SIS' continued growth and reach in the surgery market."

Over the course of its investment period, NEP partnered with the SIS team to successfully grow the company on many fronts, including revenue by 121 percent, EBITDA by 116 percent, and the number of employees by 246 percent. Recognizing the rapid move of surgeries to outpatient settings, two add-on acquisitions broadened SIS's ASC product offerings: AmkaiSolutions in 2014 and SourceMedical Solutions in 2017. SIS also successfully launched SIS Completetm in 2019, an end-to-end comprehensive SaaS software platform that addresses the administrative, financial and clinical needs of ASCs.

Tom Stampiglia, CEO of SIS, stated, "NEP is a great investment partner that truly worked side-by-side with us to build SIS into a stronger company. The entire team provided us with strategic insight and shared our long-term vision to position us for a successful transaction with Accel-KKR."

Kuehl continued, "Our experience with SIS is a great example of NEP's investment strategy, working closely with management to significantly impact performance to position companies for their next chapter of growth and success. AKKR is a great partner for SIS as they too, like NEP, are focused on helping companies grow faster to reach their full potential. SIS will be able to greatly leverage AKKR's leading software experience, vast industry and operational network, and proven, long-term investment performance."

TripleTree advised SIS on the sale transaction, and Ballard Spahr served as SIS' legal advisor. SIS is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and employs nearly 400 people. More information can be found at SISFirst.com.