One Equity Partners sold customer experience firm ResultsCX earlier this month at what senior managing director Greg Belinfanti calls a “very attractive multiple on money as well as IRR.” Let’s dig into the attractiveness of customer relationship managers, as Belinfanti discusses the sector’s value proposition.

“One of the key themes in the CRM business is that customers are looking to increase the use of technology to enhance the user experience, to simultaneously reduce call times and to create other operating efficiencies. We were very conscious that this was the direction the business needed to go.”

One Equity Partners sought those efficiencies with the acquisition of a machine learning and AI software platform called DeviceBits.

“DeviceBits was a continuous learning technology that allowed agents to be more efficient. If you receive a question, the machine learns the answer from that question so the next time there’s a call, that info is right at the fingertips of the agents, resulting in shorter hold times,” Belinfanti says. “[That makes for a] better user experience for the customer and makes the call less expensive because there’s less time spent dealing with commonly asked questions.”

Call centers represent an opportunity to reduce costs through nearshoring and add incremental technology for operational gains. The market also remains fragmented, allowing rollup opportunities, Belinfanti says. The private equity firm previously earned 5x its money on its July exit of another CRM player, OneLink Holdings, Mergers & Acquisitions reported.

OEP exited its 2015 position in ResultsCX earlier this month, selling the company to ChrysCapital.

Brandon Zero