CMX Announces $50 Million Series A Investment Led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital
Partnership to Accelerate Growth and Extend Market Position
San Diego, Calif. – May 26, 2021 – CMX, a leading provider of enterprise quality management software (EQMS), today announced it has completed an investment led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital. The financing will be used to accelerate the company’s growth by enabling CMX to expand its team and product offerings and execute its vertical market expansion strategy.
Using automation, data, visibility, and insights, the CMX1 platform enables food, retail, hospitality, and service organizations to digitally transform quality, risk, safety, and compliance-focused programs. The platform empowers organizations to protect brand reputation, maintain customer trust, and drive operational performance across their locations.
“CMX was founded based on the increasing challenges we saw for large distributed companies to protect their brands and manage the quality of their operations and supply chains,” said CMX founder and CEO Mitch Porche. “Our one platform mission has consolidated the myriad of systems required to manage quality and mitigate risk into a single cohesive management platform. We look forward to the partnership with Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital to further expand on that vision and accelerate our growth.”
CMX customers include some of the world’s most recognized brands including Restaurant Brands International, Inspire Brands, Chick-fil-A, Bloomin’ Brands, Taco Bell, Raley’s Supermarkets, Hasbro, and Bureau Veritas, among others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CMX1 platform has been instrumental in helping companies accelerate digital transformation initiatives, maintain compliance with new operational standards, and ensure the health and safety of their employees and customers.
“CMX has demonstrated impressive growth and capital efficiency since inception, and we are excited to partner with Mitch and his outstanding team to take CMX to the next level. The digital transformation of managing brand quality and risk, combined with ever increasing consumer needs and regulatory complexity, is accelerating demand for world-class solutions. CMX, now trusted by over 40 leading brands, is at the forefront of technological leadership in the quality, risk and safety assurance market,” said Lincoln Isetta, Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital.
“The high cost of failure for brands has made quality and risk management critically important for businesses today. We believe CMX is well-positioned to address the increasing demand for these services as well as the accelerated adoption of enterprise cloud solutions”, added Nick Nocito, Vice President at Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital.
Isetta and Nocito will join the CMX Board from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, alongside Adam Aarons and Phil Sanford. Adam Aarons brings 20 plus years of enterprise software sales experience, formerly serving as the Chief Revenue Officer of Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) through their 2017 IPO. Sanford brings significant experience as a senior executive and board member, having previously served as CEO and owner of The Krystal Company and as CEO of Jackson Hewitt Tax Services.
Barnes & Thornburg LLP led the legal effort from the investment group. CMX was represented by advisory firm Hilliard Advisors, investment bank JMP Securities, and the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, LLP. Morgan Stanley Private Credit also participated in the fundraising. Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and Morgan Stanley Private Credit are part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Private Credit & Equity platform.
About CMX
Leading brands including Burger King, Arby’s, Taco Bell, Sonic Drive-In, Raley’s Supermarkets, RaceTrac, and Hasbro trust CMX’s cloud-based Enterprise Quality Management Software (EQMS) CMX1 to help them achieve and maintain Operational and Quality Excellence. For over a decade, CMX has led the market with the most comprehensive, user-friendly, cloud-based EQMS platform for food and consumer brands. It’s the only enterprise solution to effectively combine supply chain quality and operational excellence into a single, fully configurable operating platform. For more information please visit www.cmx1.com or call 1-858-997-2140.
About Morgan Stanley Private Credit and Equity
Morgan Stanley Private Credit & Equity, part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is comprised of investment strategies providing private capital with a primary focus on middle-market companies. The division’s investments range from minority equity stakes in growth businesses to majority control of more mature companies. Investment strategies focus on high-quality businesses that are leading players in their industries and have significant growth potential. Morgan Stanley Private Credit & Equity is uniquely positioned to drive growth in portfolio companies and add value to our investments by leveraging the broader Morgan Stanley franchise. For further information about Morgan Stanley Private Credit & Equity, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im.
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