Private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners is buying International Business Systems AB (IBS) from Symphony Technology Group for an undisclosed amount.

Stockholm, Sweden-based IBS develops distribution resource-management software for the wholesale, distribution and manufacturing markets. The company provides resource planning, supply-chain management, warehouse management and sales and operations-planning services.

Symphony, a Palo Alto, California, private equity firm, has backed IBS since 2012. Other Symphony transactions include the purchase of McGraw Hill Construction, a construction data and analytics business, for $320 million, and acquisition of Aon plc's (NYSE: AON) global risk management business. The firm has more than $2 billion in capital under management.

Hermosa Beach, California-based Marlin is invested in other technology-related companies, including Tellabs, a networking services business that it paid $891 million for in 2013. Marlin also invests in health care, consumer, services and manufacturing businesses. The firm has about $3 billion in capital under management and closed a $400 million lower middle market-focused fund in April 2014.

Mooreland Partners advised IBS on the deal.

Private equity firms have taken an interest in software investments in recent years because of the recurring revenue that cloud-based software model provides. For more, see Plugging Into Software and watch Recurring Revenues Make Software Companies Attractive to Private Equity.

Both GTCR and GI Partners have made recent software investments, acquiring Rx30 and MRI Software LLC, respectively. 

Technology