BigHand, the provider of operational and financial products for law firms, has acquired US-based Iridium Technology in a deal that brings together a range of complementary software, especially around analytics. It is the largest deal for BigHand to date.
The deal will see BigHand’s offering extended to include the Iridium BI, Intellistat, Steere, and SmartTime families, which have a strong financial analytics focus. The combined platform will have over 3,600 clients worldwide and 350+ employees, with BigHand the larger of the two companies prior to the deal.
Both companies have been acquisitive over the last few years. For example, BigHand bought Mason and Cook in 2020, iPhelion in 2019, and DW Reporting in 2018.
Meanwhile, in 2020 Iridium Technology and Data Fusion Technologies merged together, and last year Iridium bought Smart Time Apps.
Both also have broad product offerings. For example, BigHand offers dictation, workflow and resource management, and document production capabilities. While, as noted, Iridium has a wide range of financial software for lawyers. However, all of these constituent parts will become one company now, operating globally.
Sam Toulson, Chief Executive Officer of BigHand, commented: ‘Our goal has always been to offer our clients the best solutions and support, that work for them- so when it comes to M&A, we’ve been very selective. We want to join forces with organisations that align to our goals and the goals of our customers.
‘There has to be an added value to our customers and that’s what makes this acquisition very exciting. The combined organization now gives our clients the opportunity to access a vast amount of data within their firms that will enable them to move from the practice of law to the business of law.’
While Rob Stote, Managing Director of Profitability at BigHand, added: ‘[Bringing] BigHand and Iridium together now offers a complete range of BI, profitability, financial management, time recording, matter pricing and analytics solutions.’
Tom Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Iridium, concluded: ‘I have known members of the BigHand team for years and the cultural fit between Iridium and BigHand is perfect. We share the same values on client service, technical excellence, caring for team members and giving back to our communities.’
Is this a big deal? Even though terms were not given, bringing so many people and products – and clients – together in one business is clearly a notable move. It also signals that legal tech M&A is by no means drying up, and that the goal of building very large and scalable platforms is still also very much a strategy legal tech companies are going after.