Private Equity Firm Accel-KKR’s Latest Fix: Hotel Enterprise Software
Photo Credit: SLS Las Vegas Casino & Hotel is a customer of Rainmaker's revenue management services. This month Accel-KKR-backed Cendyn Group acquired Rainmaker for an undisclosed sum. SLS
Skift Take
The short-term goal of the deals is to win more work from hotel management companies. The long-term goal is to sell the combined portfolio. We look at the merits of Accel-KKR-owned Cendyn's acquisition of Rainmaker. We also look at potential acquisition targets.
Buyout firm Accel-KKR is rolling up hotel technology vendors. It needs to find bargains, given the high valuations for the bigger businesses it more typically buys. So it's looking to build scale with mid-market companies showing revenues of between $5 million and $200 million. Mid-market firms often sell for lower prices relative to their earnings.
Like with any private equity firm, the goal is an eventual exit with a big profit. Accel-KKR's trajectory so far offers interesting insights into an increasingly important segment of the hospitality sector.
Here's a timeline of Accel-KKR's hotel tech deals. We follow that with our best guesses on who the equity firm might invest in next while analyzing the firm's latest deal, too.
In June, Accel-KKR became a majority owner of Cendyn Group, a hotel marketer based in Boca Raton, Florida. This month it supported Cendyn's acquisition of Rainmaker, a hotel revenue management service, for an undisclosed price.
Meanwhile, in February,
