DLA Piper represented private equity investment firm Columbia Capital in its strategic investment in NearForm, a global software development and consultancy firm that recently developed contact tracing technology used to track the spread of COVID-19 in several US states and European jurisdictions.

NearForm develops enterprise software to help large corporate and public sector companies scale their platforms for the digital economy. Using open-source software, NearForm’s digital products deliver secure mobile and web platforms that can scale to meet industry and consumer demands. NearForm recently developed COVID-19 contact tracing apps for use in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Gibraltar, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

NearForm will use the additional capital to scale its operations and accelerate recruitment in sales, marketing, engineering and design across North America and Europe to meet growing market demand from companies seeking digital solutions to keep pace with competitors and meet the changing digital demands of their consumers.

“We were pleased to bring to bear our broad private equity capabilities and extensive experience in the tech sector to assist Columbia Capital with its investment in NearForm,” said Eric Grossman, vice chair of DLA Piper’s Private Equity practice and the partner who led the firm’s deal team. “This investment will enable NearForm’s continued international expansion and development of innovative open-source software solutions.”

In addition to Grossman (Northern Virginia), the DLA Piper team representing Columbia Capital included partners Thomas Hendershot (Northern Virginia) and Anil Kalia (Silicon Valley) and associates Ryan Selis and Tiffany Nguyen (both of Northern Virginia) in the US, and partner Maura Dineen and associate Blayre McBride (both of Dublin) in Ireland.

DLA Piper’s Private Equity practice includes more than 100 US lawyers who provide strategic counsel to private equity funds and the industry-leading companies they invest in. Pitchbook has repeatedly recognized DLA Piper as the second most active private equity law firm globally, further solidifying the strength of the firm’s team and its depth of experience executing private equity transactions.

DLA Piper’s global Technology sector lawyers work across practice areas and offices to support technology clients – from startups to fast-growing and mid-market businesses to mature global enterprises – doing business around the world.