The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, June 16, edition that U.S. investment firms Vista Equity Partners and Blackstone have acquired Canadian software vendor Assent for about $400-million (U.S.), valuing the Ottawa company at about $1.3-billion (Canadian). The Globe's Sean Silcoff writes that Assent provides cloud software that helps 1,000 global industrial companies, including Honeywell, Boeing, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson and Toshiba, manage regulatory and ethical standards in their supply chains. The 1,000-employee firm has seen 44 consecutive quarters of annual recurring revenue growth, reaching $100-million (U.S.) in annual revenue last year. Vista invested in Assent during the pandemic tech bubble in December, 2021, leading a $350-million (U.S.) deal that valued the company at $1-billion (U.S.). The transaction, led by Vista and Blackstone, closed in March and valued Assent slightly below its 2021 peak, which is relatively favourable compared with many companies now worth significantly less than their previous valuations. Blackstone and Vista chose to not announce the deal. Nonetheless, evidence of a change-of-control transaction seeped out recently and was confirmed by three unnamed sources.