CARY – Brightly Software, which recently changed its name and branding from Dude Solutions, is set to be acquired by Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

The Cary-headquartered company will be sold for $1.575 billion, plus an earn-out, according to a statement released by the Siemens on Monday.

According to the statement, Siemens sought to acquire the company in order to accelerate growth in what it referred to as “digital building operations.”  The World Bank estimates that 7 in 10 people globally will live in urban areas by 2050, some 7 billion people.

“Brightly will enable us to leapfrog to the next level of performance for buildings. With seamless data exchange between our offerings, our customers can expect enhanced efficiency, lower downtimes and maintenance costs, shorter lifecycles, better data-driven decisions and more satisfied tenants,” said Matthias Rebellius, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Smart Infrastructure, said in a statement.

“This trend, coupled with the urgency of tackling climate change, highlight the need for smart and sustainable communities and infrastructure,” the statement reads.  And Siemens is investing in that future, building smart communities and technologies, and what they refer to as “intelligent systems.”

The deal will also accelerate “the build-up of Siemens’ SaaS business and enables Siemens and Brightly together to deliver superior performance and sustainability for built infrastructure,” the statement notes.

Buildings of the future

Brightly Software employs some 800 people and was previously acquired by Clearlake Capital in 2019 and tapped a new CEO in early 2020.   Earlier this year, the company acquired a Canadian firm specializing in ESG optimization.

But today’s news is all about the deal with Siemens.

“The acquisition will speed up our target of becoming a leading software company also in infrastructure and support our vision of creating fully autonomous buildings that continuously learn from and adapt to the needs of their tenants,” said Rebellius.

Brightly Software, founded as Dude Solutions, received a “ton of interest” prior to the company’s sale to Clearlake Capital, former company CEO Ed Roshitsh told WRAL TechWire in 2019.  The transaction with Siemens is subject to regulatory approvals, with closing expected in calendar year 2022, according to the statement.