Vena Solution has recently announced it has raised $115 million in funding managed by the business JMI Equity.

Its current investor, Centana Growth Partners was also a participant in the latest funding round, reinvesting again after managing the previous funding round in 2016.

This is one of the four major events in the industry over the last few months. Anaplan went through the process of an IPO. Adaptive Insights was then purchased by Workday and Host Analytics was bought by Vector Capital.

JMI Equity has gained experience in the industry after prior investment plans in Adaptive Insights. Industry sources suggest that investments typically range from $15 million up to $125 million. It is believed the actual investment figure made by JMI Equity was in the region of $80 million.

Peter Arrowsmith, the general partner at JMI Equity explained that the business will select companies to invest in with proven business models and a clear opportunity to enhance further growth. Arrowsmith emphasised that Vena Solutions ticked all the boxes, explaining that their customers aren’t just satisfied with the service but are passionate about the company products and the solutions it offers within the finance market. Arrowsmith states that they are very much looking forward to collaborating with the Vena team to further expand the business and its associated growth opportunities.

Where will the investment go?

Media news suggests the investment will be support accelerated growth and the scaling of operations globally. At present, Vena has its headquarters in Canada, with additional offices in New York, London and Alkmaar (the Netherlands). It is predicted this list of offices will expand as it plans to expand its portfolio of sales and services offices worldwide.

Don Mal, the CEO is believed to be interested in expanding the number of channel partners linked with Vena Solutions. With Adaptive Insight now part of Workday, there are equal opportunities for Vena to improve its partnerships with other ERP organisations. Vena will be exhibiting at SuiteWorld later this year but is not currently listed as the main sponsor. This type of investment, however, could be something that Mal considers for 2019. Vena has created a strong relationship with FinancialForce and is predicted to expand its focus at Community Live this year.

Business success in Canada

Mal explains that Vena has shown its value to many satisfied customers by offering an easy to use software, that is equally quick to adopt an essential for implementing timely and informed business choices. Vena is part of a small collection of Canadian technology businesses with the customers, products and worldwide potential to attract investment in excess of $100 million.

The main challenge for Vena Solutions is to ensure the business can expand worldwide. This will require establishing hubs within additional countries, which can lead to other challenges for the leadership team and CEO. There are discussions about whether Mal will continue to manage the business in the long term or seek a new replacement.

Enterprise Times

Vena Solutions has delivered an accessible and powerful software service to support finance processes. This is proven by the added confidence of Centana reinvesting in the business. Eric Byunn, a partner at Centana Growth explains that Centana initially invested in Vena because of its innovative product goals – essentially creating a financial analytical platform that is both powerful and simple for anyone in a business to use, whether this is for finance, compliance or business activities. Byunn explains that today they are proud to be doubling down on the business after experiencing how much value their goals have been. Vena has established more customers and created a stronger team, making it a popular choice in the business software market.

Mal is likely to look to empower the leadership team further as the company continues to expand. The business now has an equity partner that has successfully pushed 19 companies through IPO’s. There is the potential that Vena Solutions could be number 20.

Mal carefully selected their funding partner and explained that it was a selective decision in finding someone that is a perfect fit for the culture of the business and shares similar ideas in how to lead the business. Mal explains that their next step is to really scale the business and lead the market with expanded growth, and with the support of JMI, this is definitely possible. The question is now which destination will Vena Solution be selecting?