Dive Brief:
- Publicly traded and Fortune 1000 software conglomerate Roper Technologies dropped $632 million to acquire Cincinnati, OH-based ConstructConnect, a cloud-based preconstruction and project management platform.
- Merger and acquisition experts said the deal points to increased interest among technology investors in the construction sector, where M&A deal volume is expected to uptick through 2017 and average deal size is expected to grow from around $100 million to the $500 million to $1 billion range.
- All ConstructConnect brand names will remain as part of the deal, and CEO Dave Conway will continue to manage the business that saw 55 million bid invitations on 400,000 construction projects over the past year.
Dive Insight:
Venture capitalists, global software companies and now tech conglomerates continue to bolster the construction technology sector, which is seeing increased investment fueled by strong development activity.
Overall construction spending remains substantially lower than prerecession levels, offering investors and startups alike confidence regarding room for growth in the industry.
According to a Dodge Data & Analytics report released in October, utility and gas plants are the only project types expected to see a decline in 2017 while the commercial, institutional, and public works sectors should enjoy healthy growth rates. Overall, Dodge predicted that U.S. construction starts will increase 5% to a market size of $713 billion, adding to gains of 11% in 2015 and a slightly static 1% in 2016.
