e-Emphasys Technologies and CDK Global Heavy Equipment Join Forces, Backed by TA and True Wind Capital

Global enterprise software leader for the heavy equipment and industrial machinery industry also announces a new CEO and executive leadership team transitions.

CARY, N.C., May 1, 2023 – e-Emphasys Technologies Inc., a global enterprise software provider for the heavy equipment and industrial machinery industry, today announced it has merged with CDK Global Heavy Equipment, the heavy equipment business of CDK Global. With this transaction, two best-in-class organizations unite to drive the market forward with innovative, industry-focused software suites to address the end-to-end business optimization needs of equipment dealers and rental companies.

The combined entity will operate as e-Emphasys Technologies with headquarters in Cary, N.C., under the leadership of Jeffrey Hart, who joined the company as president in October 2022 and was recently appointed CEO. With a combined global employee base of nearly 700, the merger brings together the talent, technologies and partnerships to deliver digital transformation capabilities across heavy equipment and industrial machinery sectors seeking modern solutions for increasing efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability. Approximately 4,200 rooftops utilize the e-Emphasys and IntelliDealer software suites, and both solutions will continue to be sold and supported to achieve clients’ business goals.

“Today’s announcement solidifies e-Emphasys as an industry leader and reinforces our commitment to delivering even more innovation and greater value to all our clients and partners,” said Hart. “Adding CDK Global Heavy Equipment’s talented team of associates, patented intellectual property, and exceptional service and support operations will expand our global footprint, bringing modern solutions and a seamless customer experience to clients who want to grow their businesses based on the latest technology and industry best practices.”

With the company’s combined expertise and focus on innovative software solutions, existing and future clients will benefit from e-Emphasys’ work to advance artificial intelligence, business intelligence, customer relationship management, retail and e-commerce, fraud prevention and mobility.

e-Emphasys is privately held and backed by two private equity firms, TA Associates (TA) and True Wind Capital. “We are incredibly excited and grateful to continue to back e-Emphasys’ growth and the digital transformation of the heavy equipment and industrial machinery industry through this transaction,” said Nicholas Leppla, Principal of TA, and Ashu Agrawal, Managing Director of TA. “e-Emphasys and CDK Global Heavy Equipment have equally impressive track records of innovation and growth with tremendous synergies and complementary cultures, so this is an exciting combination of talent and technologies,” noted David Hirsch, Principal of True Wind Capital.

In conjunction with the transaction and Hart’s appointment as CEO, e-Emphasys also announced that co-founder and CEO Milind Bagade and co-founder and COO Sayam Bagade have decided to retire from day-to-day operations and will serve as members of e-Emphasys’ board of directors.

“e-Emphasys and the industry as a whole are poised for significant growth. Sayam and I see this as the most opportune time to hand the baton to a dynamic new leadership team while serving as board members,” explained Milind Bagade, co-founder and board member of e-Emphasys. Added Sayam Bagade, co-founder and board member of e-Emphasys, “This transaction is a significant milestone for the combined organizations, and we want to congratulate everyone involved in making it a reality. We’d also like to congratulate Jeff on being named CEO and are confident that he and the entire team of talented associates will experience continued success.”
The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

About e-Emphasys Technologies

e-Emphasys Technologies Inc. is a global enterprise software provider for the heavy equipment and industrial machinery industry. The company’s fully integrated dealer management platform supports every role within dealerships and rental companies across such sectors as agriculture, construction, forestry, heavy trucking, material handling, mining and sanitation. In addition to the core ERP platform, the company’s suite of solutions includes CRM, business intelligence, mobile field service, inspection and e-commerce customer portal applications plus RFID, artificial intelligence, IoT and telematics. With a unified view of all enterprise data, e-Emphasys’ clients increase operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability. For more information, visit www.e-emphasys.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About CDK Global Heavy Equipment

CDK Heavy Equipment has more than 40 years of experience in adapting to the quickly changing needs of the heavy equipment industry. Its IntelliDealer dealer management software includes purpose-built functionality for inspections, rental, voice and text communication, virtual customer experience solutions, and OEM integrations. The integrated platform automates and streamlines critical workflows to simplify the customer experience and maximize dealer profitability.

about ta

TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $48.6 billion in capital to date and has more than 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.

ABOUT TRUE WIND capital

True Wind Capital is a private investment firm that helps differentiated companies claim their right to win. True Wind invests across the full spectrum of strategies and partners with management teams of world class technology businesses – spanning software, data analytics, tech-enabled services, internet, financial technology, and hardware – to transform industries. Since its founding in 2015, True Wind has completed 13 platform investments and 22 add-on acquisitions. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more about True Wind at www.truewindcapital.com.