Library Technology Guides

The big news this month concerns Innovative Interfaces, Inc. receiving a major investment from a pair of private equity firms. Until now, this company had often touted its independence from the influence of outside investors as one of its positive qualities. Innovative will need to demonstrate that its new ownership arrangement actually does mean “business as usual” or that any upcoming changes will result in substantive benefits to current and potential library customers.

Innovative Interfaces, one of the veteran companies of the library automation industry, has been one of the major holdouts in the wave of private equity investments that has reshaped the library automation industry over the last six years. The company has remained under the sole ownership of its co-founder Jerry Kline. That position now changes as a pair of private equity firms, Huntsman Gay Global Capital and JMI Equity have made strategic investments in Innovative Interfaces, Inc. and its sister company SkyRiver Technology Solutions. Following the transaction Kline retains partial equity in the company and will serve as the Chairman of the company's reconstituted Board of Directors and will continue involvement in the leadership of the company. Rich Lawson, co-founder and Managing Partner of Huntsman Gay serves as Vice Chairman and JMI Equity will hold a seat on the new Board. No changes in the executive management of Innovative or SkyRiver are planned.

Industry veteran Tony Saadat has launched a new company Soutron Global that will specialize in providing library automation solutions for special libraries in the United States and Canada. This new company was founded in partnership with Soutron Limited, a UK-based company that has been involved in various aspects of special library automation since 1985. The companies will evolve toward a unified organization with its global headquarters in Encinitas, California.