Tyler Acquires New World Systems, Adding Public Safety Offerings

Tyler Technologies, a provider of software and services to local governments, will add to its portfolio by acquiring New World Systems in a deal valued at $670 million, according to an announcement from Tyler.

Plano, Texas-based Tyler, No. 51 on CRN's Solution Provider 500, will pay most if that tab - $360 million – in cash, helped by proceeds from a revolving credit line. The rest will come from the sale of about 2.1 million shares of company stock. The acquisition is the largest in the company’s 49-year history and comes about four months after it spent $10 million to acquire electronic citation software provider Brazos Technology Corp. of College Station, Texas.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter this year.

[Related: Tyler Technologies Buys $10M eCitation Software Innovator]

According to a Tyler statement, the two companies have known each other for a long time and have competed in the local government space, CEO John Marr said.

However, Tyler feels the market is big enough to accommodate both solutions, Marr added, and the company will only look to reinforce New World's offerings with Tyler’s, not replace them.

"What we want to do is support and invest New World's technologies," Marr said. "This is not a homogeneous market."

Marr added that Tyler is looking forward to adding New World's public safety software solutions because it covers a space Tyler has not covered before.

In a conference call with investors, Marr said New World's public safety software business is popular with smaller government entities and Tyler hopes to help the technology "move upstream" toward larger organizations as public safety technology becomes increasingly popular.

Tyler said it plans to integrate its Odyssey solutions for courts and justice with New World's Aegis public safety platform to create an end-to-end solution that can handle a case "from (a) 911 call to probation." No other vendor has that, he added.

Marr said that would create "a unique opportunity for communities at the local, county and statewide levels."

Having an end-to-end solution for justice departments is "a great concept that should work great in a county environment," said Daryl Corley, a court administrator for the City of Carrollton Municipal Court, a Tyler client in Carrollton Texas. "I don't think we will be doing (it) in Carrollton, but I think it’s a great idea."

Tyler said it has no immediate plans to merge the companies’ work forces and that New World, based in Troy, Mich., will continue virtually unchanged, keeping its current customers and name. Larry D. Leinweber, founder, president and CEO of New World, will join Tyler's board of directors after the acquisition is completed.

PUBLISHED OCT. 1, 2015