Hot
off
the
presses
is
news
that
Francisco
Partners,
a
major
global
investment
firm
that
specializes
in
partnering
with
technology
businesses,
announced
plans
to
acquire
Elite,
a
legal
technology
company
that
specializes
in
financial
management
and
business
operations.
It
will
acquire
it
from
its
current
owners, TPG
Capital,
the
U.S.
and
European
private
equity
platform
of
global
alternative
asset
management
firm
TPG,
and
Thomson
Reuters.
The
acquisition
will
provide
Elite
with
a
new
financial
partner
to
help
the
company
capitalize
on
its
current
momentum
and
continue
to
drive
product
innovation
and
growth,
according
to
an
announcement
of
the
acquisition.
Terms
of
the
transaction
were
not
disclosed.
Founded
in
1947,
Elite
has
a
long
history
of
providing
technology
solutions
to
the
legal
industry,
with
a
particular
focus
over
the
past
several
decades
on
financial
and
practice
management
systems
for
large
and
mid-sized
law
firms.
Its
flagship
products
include
3E,
ProLaw,
eBillingHub,
and
MatterSphere,
which
help
automate
and
streamline
billing,
invoicing,
payments,
and
financial
reporting
for
many
of
the
world’s
leading
law
firms.
From
2003
until
June
2023,
Elite
was
owned
by
Thomson
Reuters.
In
2023,
a
majority
stake
in
Elite
was
acquired
by
private
equity
firm
TPG
for
approximately
$500
million,
making
Elite
an
independent
company.
Thomson
Reuters
retained
a
minority
stake
and
board
representation,
while
Elite
continued
to
maintain
integrations
with
Thomson
Reuters
products.
Since
its
spin-out,
Elite
has
sought
to
renew
its
focus
on
innovation,
including
a
refreshed
brand
and
new
AI-driven
features,
and
it
has
continued
to
expand
its
suite
of
cloud-based
solutions.
In
January
2025,
Elite
further
expanded
its
offerings
by
acquiring
Tranch,
a
payments
and
invoice
automation
platform
catering
to
large
law
firms.
According
to
the
announcement, Elite
currently
serves
about
2,000
law
firms,
including
75%
of
the
Am
Law
100
and
72%
of
the
Global
100.
“With
Francisco
Partners’
financial
support
and
extensive
legal
software
and
payments
expertise,
we
are
confident
they
are
the
right
partner
to
help
us
continue
to
deliver
our
transformative
products
to
the
legal
industry,”
said
Mark
Dorman,
CEO
of
Elite.
“Building
on
the
success
we
achieved
with
TPG,
this
next
phase
positions
Elite
to
scale
faster,
deepen
our
cloud
and
AI
capabilities,
and
help
law
firms
operate
with
greater
speed,
insight,
and
efficiency.”
Peter
Christodoulo,
partner
at
Francisco
Partners,
said:
“Elite’s
powerful,
cloud-based
platform
for
large
law
firms
positions
it
perfectly
for
long-term
growth.”
The
transaction
is
expected
to
be
completed
in
the
third
quarter
of
2025,
subject
to
customary
closing
conditions.
Francisco
Partners
has
invested
in
a
number
of
legal
tech
companies
over
the
years,
including
Aderant,
BARBRI,
LegalZoom
and
Paradigm.