Nearly 1,000 manufacturers around the world – including household names such as Honeywell International, General Electric, Boeing, Toshiba and Johnson & Johnson – use Assent’s cloud-based software to ensure their supply chains comply with an ever-growing list of ethical and regulatory standards.
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U.S. investment firms Vista Equity Partners Management and Blackstone Inc. have bought out the other venture-capital investors in Ottawa enterprise software star Assent for about US$400 million, one of the firm’s co-founders confirmed to OBJ on Monday.
Rob Imbeault, Assent’s former engineering lead who helped launch the company in 2010, said the deal – which values the firm at about US$1.3 billion – has been in the works for months.
“It’s the nature of progress in these types of businesses,” said Imbeault, who left Assent in late 2017 but remains a shareholder.
“It’s all positive news. It showcases Ottawa talent once again. I’m from Montreal, and Ottawa has been incredibly good to me. I’m a big fan of the city and its tech talent. Onward and upward for Assent.”
Nearly 1,000 manufacturers around the world – including household names such as Honeywell International, General Electric, Boeing, Toshiba and Johnson & Johnson – use Assent’s cloud-based software to ensure their supply chains comply with an ever-growing list of ethical and regulatory standards.
The company, which employs about 1,000 people, made headlines last year when then-CEO Andrew Waitman announced it had reached US$100 million in annual recurring revenues.
Imbeault said he believes Assent’s ARR “is much higher than that now.” He said Vista and Blackstone’s decision to buy out the other VCs who previously invested in the company is a testament to the visionary leadership of Waitman, who stepped down as chief executive last month after more than a decade in the top job and was named OBJ’s CEO of the year in 2024.
“It’s such a strong company and had to withstand these headwinds these past few years,” he said. “The macro environment has been challenging for most startups, and Assent just continued on.”
The Globe and Mail reported Sunday that two early investors in Assent, Boston-based Volition Capital and Toronto’s First Ascent Ventures, recently sold their stake in the company to Vista. Citing unidentified sources, the Globe said Warburg Pincus, which originally invested US$100 million in Assent in 2018, and U.S. investor StepStone Group Inc. also sold out.
Blackstone did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday morning. In response to an inquiry from OBJ, Vista spokesperson Brian Steel confirmed “a transaction involving Vista and Assent” took place in 2024, but he would not disclose any further details.
In an email to OBJ, Assent spokesperson Charmaine D’Silva would not confirm the sale had occurred, but said the firm is “incredibly proud of the continued confidence Vista Equity Partners has placed in Assent.”
D’Silva said the U.S. VC’s investment in the Ottawa company “is a strong vote of confidence in the strength of our team, our platform, and the significant market opportunity ahead of us.”
She also said the recent appointment of Michael Southworth to succeed Waitman as CEO and the hiring of Minnesota-based Mark Smith as chief customer officer earlier this year are further proof that Assent is “entering a new phase of growth and customer focus.”
