A community service SaaS startup is helping to put the Chicago tech scene on the map. CityBase was recently acquired by Austin, Texas based GTY Technology Holdings for $160 million in cash and stock in a deal that is expected to close early next year. According to a statement made shortly after the deal was announced, CityBase plans to use the funds to add more features to the product and expand its services to customers in new cities.
CityBase was founded in 2014 by current CEO Michael Duffy with the mission of using tech to give citizens equal access to local government services. Through digital services, a content management system, kiosks and wireless payment capabilities, the company helps to eliminate paper forms, secure the transfer of funds and automate government processes. CityBase employs over 50 people and is headquartered in Chicago.
The company delivers these services by using cloud-based software systems to “stitch together” outdated and disparate computer systems and databases. It’s a market that is estimated to be $50 billion in size and includes major industry competition like IBM and SAP as well as smaller startups.
Though the company had no plans of being acquired, CEO Duffy noted in a statement on the deal that the move aligns much closer with the organization’s long term goals rather than pursuing venture capital investment.
Previously, CityBase raised $13.5 million in capital from a round of investment that included Method Capital and Chicago-based KDWC.
The CityBase deal is one of six that GTY, a publicly traded company, has conducted in the past year in transactions totalling $497 million. All of the deals center on businesses that seek to digitize the public sector and three of the businesses hold spots on the GovTech 100 list.
All of GTY’s recently acquired companies will keep their individual retail identities once they are integrated under the GTY umbrella. The other five companies that GTY recently acquired are Bonfire Interactive Ltd., eCivis Inc., Open Counter Enterprises Inc., Sherpa Government Solutions and Questica Inc. These six serve a customer base of about 1,500 organizations.
