Carlyle Buys Software Firm Unison in Latest Tech Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Carlyle Group Inc. is acquiring software company Unison, in the private equity firm’s latest deal to focus on the technology sector.

The Washington-based firm plans to purchase Unison, which supports government agencies and contractors with its software, for an undisclosed amount, according to the company. Unison is a familiar name for Carlyle, which first invested in the Dulles, Virginia-based company in 2005 and sold it five years later to JMI Management Inc.

“Especially during Covid-19, we’re trying to stick to our knitting,” Michael Gozycki, a managing director at Carlyle who led the Unison deal, said in an interview. “It’s a business we know well, having owned it before and a team I know and trust.”

The deal marks Carlyle’s first investment from its $18.5 billion flagship private equity fund since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Carlyle, one of world’s largest alternative asset managers with $217 billion, is ramping up its focus on technology, media and telecommunications with more buying in the sector. The firm has poured about $30 billion into related deals since its founding in 1987, investing frequently in software companies that serve specific industries, such as Quorum Software, which focuses on energy, and Gemcom, which is used in mining.

With Unison, Gozycki said that even 15 years later, there are opportunities for the company to keep investing in its software and to grow through acquisitions.

Much of Carlyle’s recent deal activity has been focused on technology. The firm completed the sale of Eggplant Software, an automation provider, to Keysight Technologies Inc. last week, and also backed ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., which went public earlier this month.

Carlyle’s rivals are also starting to resume deal activity. Blackstone Group Inc. announced Monday that it is forming a joint venture with Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. to grow its Hollywood studios platform.

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