Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 F E B R UA R Y 6 , 2 0 1 7 Helping Maine businesses thrive. It's what we believe in. It's what we do. Bangor Savings Bank has been named Maine's Top Small Business Lender 6 Years in a row by the Small Business Administration 1.877.Bangor1 | www.bangor.com Member FDIC InterSpec acquired by Salt Lake City fi rm B y J a m e s M c C a r t h y SOUTH PORTLAND — InterSpec, a Maine-based company that creates software solutions for the building industry, has been acquired by ARCOM, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. The purchase price was not disclosed. ARCOM provides advanced soft- ware solutions to design and construc- tion professionals and is owned by Alpine Investors, a private equity fi rm. Gilles Letourneau, who founded InterSpec in Portland in 1998, said the deal closed in early January. His company was a fi nalist in the small business category of Mainebiz's 2015 Fastest Growing companies list, report- ing 57% sales growth between 2012 and 2014. InterSpec's 20 employees will continue working out of the com- pany's South Portland offi ce. "Our plan is to continue growing as we have been," Letourneau said, noting that the two companies' product lines are complementary, which will create a kind of "one stop shopping" opportunity for InterSpec's existing client base that extends from Hawaii to the Middle East. He anticipates future growth in InterSpec's South Portland offi ce. "At InterSpec we have a very experienced and professional specs team and so does ARCOM," Letourneau said. "Together we can serve our specifi cation clients more effi ciently because we will be working side-by-side with the authors of the content." Jim Contardi, ARCOM CEO, will lead the combined entity while Letourneau will continue with the combined entity as general manager, A/E product and will also provide strategic direction to the company. The combined entity will operate under the ARCOM brand. "This deal benefi ts our customers because it brings together complementary assets that they have been asking for," Contardi said in a written statement accompanying the announcement. "It makes it easier for them to be productive and ultimately allows them to build better buildings." Plans to accelerate innovation In a FAQs posting on InterSpec's website, the companies stated: Alpine Investors specializes in lower middle-market (i.e., valuations of $10 million to $150 million) companies in the software, online and business ser- vices industries. The fi rm has raised more than $900 million of committed capital and has invested in 52 com- panies since its inception in 2001. The two companies plan to inte- grate "to accelerate innovation and make it easier to do business as a customer with both companies' products and services." For existing customers, the com- panies stated it will be "business as usual when working with either ARCOM or InterSpec." In the longer term, the companies expect "to lever- age their combined assets to deliver best-in-class technology, rich specifi - cation content, and the highest levels of customer service." Maine Venture Fund's role Matt Hoffner, chairman and managing director of InterSpec, said 90% of both companies' clients already use their respective products. "Making the integration tighter and the renewal and service process easier is a good thing for all," he said. Both Hoffner and Letourneau credited Maine Venture Fund, a venture capital fund that invests exclusively in Maine companies, with supporting InterSpec's growth. "We wouldn't be here without the patience of our investors," said Hoffner. Letourneau said equally important to the infusion of capital that came with Maine Venture Fund's 2006 investment in his company has been the opportunity it created for him to learn from other companies in MVF's portfolio. "For me, that really was a big plus," he said. "I don't think I could have done it without them." B R I E F Gilles Letourneau, president and CEO of South Portland-based software company InterSpec, which announced it has been acquired by ARCOM, a company headquartered in Salt Lake City. F I L E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY

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