Goldman unit plugs $150M into eProperty management company

Law360, New York (June 7, 2016, 2:15 PM ET) The private investment arm of Goldman Sachs has agreed to inject $150 million into SMS Assist, a cloud-based property management company that counts Family Dollar, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. among its clients, the companies said Tuesday.The series D funding sees Goldman Sachs Investment Partners joining prior SMS Assist investors like Insight Venture Partners and Pritzker Group Venture Capital, according to a statement. SMS Assist, based in Chicago, provides an online platform for companies to manage their property portfolios. SMS Assist has now raised a total of $258 million from outside investors since its formation in 1999.Michael Rothman, chairman and CEO of SMS Assist, said in a statement that the capital injection from Goldman Sachs Investment Partners will go toward the continued development of its technology and capabilities."SMS Assist's continued, rapid growth into new markets proves how our technology is bringing savings and profitability to our customers and affiliates," Rothman said. "Partnering with Goldman Sachs Investment Partners at this stage opens up extensive possibilities for our technology and fully man aged business solution."Christopher Dawe, co-head of the venture capital and growth equity team at Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, said in a statement that the decision to invest in SMS Assist is consistent with the firm's overall investment philosophy, which includes seeking out "exceptional teams that are applying technology to make industries more efficient.""This is a huge market opportunity, yet historically the sector has lacked innovation and customer needs were largely unmet," Dawe said. "SMS Assist stands out to us as the only player delivering a scalable solution that improves both quality and transparency to its customer base while at the same time reducing costs."SMS Assist boasts a network of more than 20,000 subcontracted affiliates and roughly 500,000 technicians to assist with all maintenance and management needs related to the 120,000 locations that comprise the combined portfolios of its clients. The company's proprietary online platform gives clients the ability to do everything from offer instant invoicing and automatic service audits to risk indemnification and data analysis.J.B. Pritzker, managing partner at Pritzker Group, which has been a SMS Assist investor since 2011, said in a statement that the company is "at the forefront of the next wave of innovation," adding that it is "fundamentally transforming the $50 billion maintenance and management market with its disruptive technology platform while delivering real value and cost savings for its customers."Goldman Sachs Investment Partners has previously invested in companies like Uber Technologies Inc., Facebook Inc. and Spotify Inc., among others.About SMS AssistSMS Assist is a Chicago-based technology company providing multisite property management to a roster of Fortune 500 clients with a team of more than 800 dedicated employees and more than 186,000 service locations. Using its proprietary software platform to manage its network of more than 20,000 affiliate subcontractors, SMS Assist offers a suite of property management benefits including leveraged pricing of products and services, a $50 million insurance policy, real-time services validation, instant invoicing, automatic service audits, and data analysis to ensure quality and cost efficiency. SMS Assist is revolutionizing multisite property management services for clients including JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) and Invitation Homes Inc. (NYSE: INVH). To learn more, visit smsassist.com.Contact:Elisabeth Klisser312-265-2047eklisser@smsassist.com