Private Equity Firm Acquires Majority Stake in Seattle-based Lighthouse

Lightyear Capital LLC, a New York private equity firm, has acquired a controlling interest in Seattle based Lighthouse, which provides software solutions that help legal and compliance teams manage enterprise data and the electronic-discovery process.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Lightyears announcement states that investment funds affiliated with Lightyear have acquired a controlling stake in Lighthouse Technologies Holding Corp. (Lighthouse).

Lighthouses clients include Fortune 100 companies in industries that face a lot of regulation, such as health care, insurance, pharmaceuticals and financial services.

Our investment in Lighthouse follows several years of active efforts to identify and pursue leading companies in the rapidly expanding field of financial-services governance, risk and compliance, says Mark F. Vassallo, managing partner of Lightyear. Lighthouse has a strong and dedicated management team and we look forward to working with them as they continue to execute on their growth strategy.

Over the past two years, Lighthouse has merged with San Francisco-based Discovia, which also provided software solutions focused on litigation and electronic discovery. The merger created the largest company in the industry, with some 300 employees at the time.

Between 2012 and 2016 Lighthouse raised about $56 million through three separate funding rounds, according to Crunchbase.com. The company currently employs 447 people, Lighthouse spokesperson Erica Ames says.

Last year, Lighthouse acquired Forexus, a Zurich, Switzerland-based provider of consulting services and chat-processing software, with a focus on the serving financial institutions and law firms. Lighthouse, founded in 1995, is headquartered in Seattle and has offices in San Francisco, New York, Phoenix, London and Zurich.

Lightyear Capital is a great partner, says Brian McManus, chief executive officer of Lighthouse. With a strong reputation and significant expertise in the financial technology sector, we are excited to have their support as we continue to grow the company, both organically and through acquisitions.