Blackstone investment in the tech firm ISN puts a $2 billion value

Blackstone announced today that they have made a significant minority investment in ISN, the global leader in third-party contractor and supplier management software, at a valuation of over $2 billion. The investment is led by Blackstone Growth (BXG), which focuses on providing growth capital to market-leading companies and helping them leverage Blackstone’s extensive global resources to further scale their businesses.

As ISN is employee-owned, Blackstone will be the only outside stockholder in ISN. Blackstone’s backing will help fuel ISN’s continued growth through product innovation and expansion into new markets and geographies, potentially providing even more value to both new and existing customers.

Established in 2001, ISN’s software platform, ISNetworld, helps leading enterprises worldwide source and manage third-party relationships with contractors and suppliers while ensuring compliance with company, industry and regulatory standards.

ISN’s subscription-based platform helps customers ensure that their contractors and suppliers meet key criteria for training, health and safety, cyber-security, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). More than 650 clients, over 170 of which are Fortune 500 companies, rely upon ISNetworld to manage compliance data for more than 75,000 contactor subscribers across 85 countries.

Vini Letteri, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone Growth (BXG), said: “Companies and boards around the world are increasingly focused on ensuring the highest standards for risk management, compliance and ESG reporting. We believe ISN is leading the way, and that Blackstone can be a key partner in supporting its further growth. ISN is the perfect example of the type of company we’re looking to invest in at Blackstone Growth: it has outgrown traditional growth equity, but not Blackstone.”

Brian Dunlap, a Managing Director at Blackstone Growth (BXG), said: “ISN is a market leader that has experienced extraordinary success through its commitment to innovative technology and industry-recognized service to its blue-chip customers across sectors and its extensive network of trusted suppliers worldwide. We’re proud to be ISN’s only outside investor and look forward to deploying Blackstone’s global resources to help the company expand its mission of enhancing hiring organizations’ ability to source great contractors, manage risk and ensure employees and contractors get home safely every night.”

Bill Addy, Executive Chairman of ISN, said: “As we look to the future, Blackstone Growth’s global presence, operational resources, and network across sectors will help us achieve our long-term vision of providing the absolute best solution for our customers to ensure safe supply chain continuity. Together with Blackstone, we look forward to continuing our expansion into new sectors and geographies and investing further in our technology solutions to meet and exceed the needs of our customers.”

Joe Eastin, Chief Executive Officer of ISN, said: “I’m very proud of the progress the ISN team has made over the last 20 years. We have developed an industry-defining product, cultivated a powerful employee culture, executed an unparalleled level of customer service and created a network for capital-intensive companies to leverage best practices to keep worksites safe and supply chains efficient. Through this partnership with Blackstone, none of that changes. In fact, we look forward to enhancing our product offering, providing even more expertise to our valued customers and furthering the professional development of our employees.”

Headquartered in Dallas, ISN has additional offices in Los Angeles, Midland, New York, Calgary, Montréal, Toronto, Mexico City, London, Perth, Sydney and Auckland which provide award-winning support and training for our customers in more than 85 countries. ISN takes pride in leading worldwide efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of contractor management systems and in serving as a world-class forum for sharing industry best practices among its members. 

Source: Business Wire