Construction Software Developer Textura Corporation Raises $86.3 Million in IPO

In one of the year's largest IPOs, construction software developer Textura Corporation raised $86.3 million earlier this month, selling 5,750,000 shares at $15 to underwriters and brokerages. The IPO was underwritten by Credit Suisse and William Blair & Co., which acted as joint book-running managers, and by JMP Securities, Oppenheimer & Co. and Barrington Research, which acted as co-managers. Mayer Brown LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) advised on the deal.

Textura was founded in 2004 by three former PwC partners: Patrick Allin, chairman and CEO; William Eichhorn, EVP; and Howard Niden, EVP and chief solutions architect. (A timeline of key events in the company's history, along with a list of major investors, appears at the end of this article.)

In the following Q&A, Allin explains what the company's IPO means to the construction industry.

[caption id="attachment_1313" align="alignnone" width="584"] Textura founders on Floor of Exchange shortly after “TXTR” began trading on June 7. Pictured from left to right: Bill Eichhorn, EVP; Pat Allin, chairman and CEO; Howard Niden, EVP and chief solutions architect.[/caption]

Q:Textura has been developing its suite of technology solutions for construction for nine years. What is unique about your products?

A: One of the unique aspects of Textura is that when we formed the company in 2004, we decided to focus on creating solutions for the critical core processes around construction projects. We concentrated on delivering functionality and value for all process participants, and not on building enterprise solutions for only one participant group, such as GCs, owners or subcontractors.

Q: How did that affect the development path of Textura software?

A:As a result of our focus on core construction processes, using collaboration technology was key. So, without realizing it at the time, we were at the forefront of creating cloud solutions even before the term was coined.

Q:What does Textura’s successful IPO say about the industry’s acceptance of cloud-based solutions?

A: Initially our cloud-based solutions were not readily embraced, but we kept at it. As peoples’ views of technology evolved, we became the beneficiary of what is a huge trend in all industries toward cloud-based solutions. This is the next generation software technology in construction and all other industries.

Q: With the capital Textura raised in this IPO, what will be the company's future focus?

A: Going forward, we intend to increase our investment in and stay focused on cloud solutions for commercial construction.

Q: Do you think the strong support of Textura’s IPO signals a rebound for the construction industry?

A: Given that we have such a significant market share in the U.S. and are the only provider of construction payment management, we have a very robust database of construction activity. We see the market as reasonably buoyant. Many of our clients are experiencing better growth than the economists suggest is available.



Timeline of Key Events

September 2004 – Textura established

July 2005 – Construction Payment Management launched

October 2009 – Pre-Qualification Management launched

October 2011 – Acquisition of GradeBeam adds invitation-to-bid solution to Textura platform

November 2011 – Acquisition of Submittal Exchange and Greengrade adds submittal exchange and LEED® management functionality to Textura platform

February 2013 – Acquisition of PlanSwift adds takeoff and estimating functionality to Textura platform

June 2013 -- Textura IPO raises $86.3 million with sales of 5,750,000 shares at $15



Major Investors (as reported in other public sources)

Northwater Capital Management LLC

First Midwest Bancorp Inc.

Aon Risk Services Co., a unit of Aon Plc