The San Francisco-based investor acquired a majority stake from Norwest Venture Partners and minority shareholder Georgian Partners for a reported price of between $500 million and $750 million. Cority makes cloud software for environmental, health and safety and quality audits. The company claims to have sales in the high tens of millions of dollars and has grown revenue by 30 per cent in recent years. (Globe and Mail)

Talking point: Cority is set to use its new owners’ capital on a well-proven growth strategy for Canadian tech companies that serve business clients: acquisitions. Shanti Atkins, the company’s chair, said it is likely to become the leading consolidator in the governance, risk and compliance software sector. Waterloo-headquartered OpenText has successfully employed the tactic for many years, making 13 acquisitions since 2014. Constellation Software, based in Toronto, is the parent company of six firms, which themselves have bought smaller competitors. Cority may be particularly well placed to grow by acquisition, because it sells to major industries with limited existing software overlap, like pharma, oil and gas, and food and beverage.