A well-known Aberdeen IT entrepreneur has sold a "substantial" stake in his company to a US private equity firm in a transaction worth tens of millions of pounds.
Andy Bird, founder and chief executive of Aberdeen-headquartered Inoapps, hailed the deal with Boston-based Abry Partners as a "perfect fit".
The company now aims to more than double the number of its employees worldwide to 1,000 by the end of the year.
Mr Bird, who founded Inoapps in 2006, retains joint control of the firm along with Abry.
As part of the deal, previous investors BGF will exit their investment in Inoapps, having realised a 4.5x return on the investment made in 2013.
The £10million funding from BGF enabled Inoapps to increase its global presence dramatically, particularly in the US and Asia, investing in developing expertise and technology in the Oracle stack.
Mr Bird said: “Since our first meeting I recognised that Abry Partners would be a great partner for our future. Abry offers something different - a proven track record of helping technology-based businesses capitalise on both the North American and European markets.
"In addition, the operational support team with experts in various disciplines, made the culture a perfect fit for our next phase of growth as we head towards 1,000 employees by the end of 2022.”
Mr Bird added: “Throughout 2021, we more than doubled the value of our booked work and the amount of work won for the next financial year.
"Combined with a new board structure, new capital and our ongoing commitment to excellence, we are set to accelerate drastically our growth throughout North America, Europe and beyond.
"I would like to thank everyone involved in this transaction, as well as Kevin Lyon, Bobby Anderson, and Mike Sibson all who have left our board after great service.”