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SAN FRANCISCO, CA — July 29, 2019 12:00 PM EDT
nvestment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital (“Expansion Capital”) announced the sale of their interest in HighQ Solutions Limited (“HighQ”), a leading collaboration platform for legal and regulated industries, to Thomson Reuters. HighQ provides secure cloud-based business collaboration, workflow automation and client engagement software to over 400 customers, including more than half of the top 100 global law firms. In December 2015, Expansion Capital invested in founder-backed HighQ in a transaction designed to accelerate the company’s growth, drive further expansion in North America and recapitalize select holders. The company is headquartered in London with offices in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and India.
HighQ represented a unique opportunity for Expansion Capital to partner with the founder and executive team of a leading collaboration SaaS provider in the company’s first and only institutional fundraise. Expansion Capital worked closely with HighQ to drive growth through both organic and strategic initiatives and the successful acquisition of competitor Legal Anywhere, an Oregon-based provider of collaboration and file sharing solutions for the legal industry. Expansion Capital also partnered with the company to grow its North American commercial go-to-market presence and augment its executive team and Board of Directors.
“We were attracted to HighQ Solutions given its capital efficient founder-bootstrapped heritage and strong product addressing a large and compelling market opportunity. Over the course of our investment, HighQ generated considerable organic growth driven by geographic and vertical expansion, as well as through the acquisition of a competing business. We were pleased to be a partner to HighQ and thoroughly enjoyed working closely with management and the team. We are excited for HighQ to be partnering with such a high quality strategic buyer,” said Robert Bassman, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley.
“Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital has been a great partner to HighQ, supporting us not only with additional growth capital, but also with the thought leadership and creativity necessary to help us achieve our strategic growth objectives. They were instrumental in helping us recruit executives and an independent board member as well as execute the Legal Anywhere acquisition and the sale of HighQ,” said Ajay Patel, Co-Founder and CEO of HighQ.
Prior to Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital’s involvement, HighQ was majority owned by its two co-founders, both of whom were pioneers in the legal collaboration software industry. During the Fund’s investment period, Morgan Stanley also became a HighQ customer.
Other investors in HighQ included One Peak Partners and Goldman Sachs.
About Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital
Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital is the growth-focused private investment platform within Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Funds managed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital target growth equity and credit investments within technology, healthcare, consumer, digital media and other high growth sectors. For over three decades, Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital has successfully pursued growth investment opportunities and has completed investments in over 190 companies leveraging the global brand and network of Morgan Stanley. For further information about Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im/expansioncapital.
About Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has more than 665 investment professionals around the world and $497 billion in assets under management or supervision as of June 30, 2019. Morgan Stanley Investment Management strives to provide outstanding long-term investment performance, service and a comprehensive suite of investment management solutions to a diverse client base, which includes governments, institutions, corporations and individuals worldwide. For further information about Morgan Stanley Investment Management, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
