Recent News
Columbia Ultimate Business Systems
Accounts receivable management (ARM) and revenue cycle management (RCM) software and services providers, Ontario Systems® and Columbia Ultimate Business Systems®, both of which are market leaders in their industry, are now under one umbrella upon the acquisition of Columbia Ultimate® by Ontario Systems®. The combination will strengthen their overall product sets and presence in government, healthcare and the collections industry and provide a broader set of compliance consulting services to their customers. Both Ontario Systems® and Columbia Ultimate® are well-known brands in the ARM market, with each holding distinct market leadership positions in adjacent verticals.
Headquartered in Muncie, Indiana, Ontario Systems® provides RCM software and services to the healthcare market, captivating a majority of the top health systems in the U.S. as customers and actively managing more than $40 billion in receivables with its products. Headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, Columbia Ultimate® serves more than 100 state and municipal government customers in nearly 30 states and has a very strong presence in the collection agency sector.
ACQUISITIONS NORTHWEST (“ANI”): ANI was engaged by the founder and owner of Columbia Ultimate® to work with the senior management team to explore candidates in the software industry that would be the best fit for the company’s employees and customers in the future. ANI researched the software industry, and in particular, private equity groups with strong software depth in their portfolio companies, to determine who would make the best financial partner for Columbia Ultimate®. After extensive discussions with a number of highly-qualified firms, the management team chose Ontario Systems®, which is a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Metro Machinery and Rigging Acquired
METRO MACHINERY AND RIGGING has been one of the dominating rigging firms in the Portland metro area since being founded in 1982. The company specializes in moving and placing heavy machinery for major manufacturers and for machine tool dealers.
AXIS CRANE is one of the significant crane and rigging companies in the Northwest, servicing contractors, government entities and blue-chip customers with one of the largest crane fleets in Oregon and Washington. The company specializes in crane rental, rigging, pile driving and heavy hauling. The Axis Crane headquarters are in Portland, Oregon.
WESTWARD PARTNERS, a Seattle-based private equity firm, was founded in 2010 by three partners who have extensive experience in the Northwest private equity and investment banking industry. In addition to Axis Crane, the firm has eight other portfolio investments located in the Northwest U.S. and in Western Canada.
ACQUISITIONS NORTHWEST, INC. was engaged to represent the shareholders of Metro Machinery and Rigging, Inc. in securing an acquirer that would continue the excellent service reputation of Metro and to accomplish the owner’s exit strategy. The engagement was noteworthy in the fact that Acquisitions Northwest was involved in the sale to the current shareholders in 1990.