An exciting growth investment made in partnership with AAHOA
Voted the No. 1 hospitality accounting software in North America, M3, LLC, recently announced it signed a definitive agreement for a majority investment from Blackstone Growth and affiliated funds (collectively “Blackstone”). The investment will help to accelerate the company’s growth by enhancing new product expansion and supporting the adoption of M3’s software, which enables hotel operators to run more efficiently and effectively. This marks AAHOA’s first-ever strategic investment alongside Blackstone as it seeks to better serve its nearly 20,000 Members who own 60% of hotels across the United States.
Founded in 1998 by hospitality industry veteran John McKibbon to address the accounting needs of his own family’s hotel management company, M3 has grown into a leading hospitality-focused back-office accounting software platform that serves as the system-of-record for financial data for more than 1,000 hotel operators and management companies today. It currently offers technological solutions including accounting, labor management, and business intelligence to more than 8,000 properties across North America. M3 has ranked as the nation’s No. 1 hotel accounting software and financial reporting provider by HotelTech Report for the past four years.
“Blackstone’s background in hospitality made them the natural choice as our first equity partner,” said M3 Founder John McKibbon. “Together, we look forward to propelling our innovation and growth to best serve our customers in an era of continued technological advancement.”
“M3 has become a leading finance and accounting software platform for countless independent and family owned hotel operators, as well as some of the largest hotel management companies, that have relied on its technology to support the professionalization and scale of their businesses,” said Blackstone Managing Director Ramzi Ramsey. “As M3’s first institutional capital partner, we’re excited to harness Blackstone’s deep expertise and network within the real estate and technology sectors to help enhance its product offering to better serve new and existing companies as M3 continues to grow.”
“For more than 25 years, M3 has been focused on delivering a comprehensive solution while providing world class support to our customers,” said M3 CEO Allen Read and M3 President Casi Johnson. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to serving our customers and are thrilled to partner with Blackstone to continue to scale our vision, team, and culture.”
“M3 has built an enviable market position thanks to its robust technology and customer-centric approach,” said Blackstone Principal Kevin Chang. “We are eager to build upon this strong foundation and support M3 in its next phase of growth and expansion in the broader hospitality market.”
“AAHOA is excited to make its first strategic investment alongside Blackstone, a move that will significantly benefit our members and the entire hospitality industry,” said AAHOA Chairman Miraj S. Patel. “This partnership with M3 will bring AAHOA Members access to advanced technology and innovative solutions that can enhance operational efficiency and drive growth. We are committed to empowering our members with the tools and resources needed to succeed in an evolving market, and this collaboration marks a pivotal step toward achieving that goal.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Carlton Fields, P.A., served as legal counsel to M3 and Houlihan Lokey has provided certain assistance to M3 in connection with the transaction. Evercore served as exclusive financial advisor to Blackstone and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Blackstone.
ABOUT M3
Built by hoteliers exclusively for hoteliers, M3 is a robust cloud-based financial platform and services company serving more than 8,000 properties across North America’s hospitality industry helping drive cost savings, revenue enhancement, and business insight. After 25-plus years in business, M3 touts a 95% customer retention rate. Used by more than 1,000 management groups and owner-operators and hotels of all sizes, the platform works seamlessly with other key systems and tools in the hospitality industry. It offers robust accounting and financial analysis across entire portfolios with optional operations and time management features. M3’s Professional Services team provides on-demand accounting and bookkeeping support for hotels and portfolios of any size by offering a full range of customized accounting solutions that can scale with a hotelier’s needs. Privately held and employee-owned, M3 continues to constantly enhance products and services with regular releases and updates. For more information, visit m3as.com.
ABOUT BLACKSTONE
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which we invest. Our more than $1 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, credit, real assets, secondaries, and hedge funds. Further information is available at blackstone.com.
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