Cox Enterprises buys majority stake in government software firm OpenGov

Cox Enterprises on Tuesday announced it has taken a majority stake in California-based software company OpenGov, which helps local and state governments modernize their technology and improve transparency and constituent services.

OpenGov makes software that helps government agencies with their accounting, asset management, budgeting, procurement and permitting. The company also builds portals for publishing of government data and for agencies to fulfill requests for public records.

Financial terms of the investment were not publicly disclosed, but the companies said the deal values OpenGov at $1.8 billion. OpenGov has about 700 employees nationwide.

Cox, which has its headquarters in Sandy Springs, is one of the nation’s largest privately held companies. Its core businesses include broadband provider Cox Communications, Cox Automotive and media companies including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Powering more effective and accountable government is an inspiring mission, and OpenGov delivers a better experience for governments, residents and businesses alike,” Cox Chairman and CEO Alex Taylor said in a news release.

Zac Bookman, co-founder and CEO of OpenGov, said the Cox investment will help the company “accelerate product development, advance our mission, and improve communities for generations.”

Cox was founded more than 125 years ago by James M. Cox when he purchased what became the Dayton Daily News. Cox, who later became the governor of Ohio, bought newspapers in Atlanta and other cities and Cox Enterprises evolved over the years into one of the nation’s biggest family-owned companies.

Cox has diversified its holdings, making acquisitions in clean energy, electric vehicles and the EV supply chain, sustainable agriculture and media.

Andrew Davis, Cox senior vice president of strategy and investment, said Cox was introduced to OpenGov nearly four years ago as the company looked to make investments in public sector software and Cox made a small initial investment.

In 2022, Cox expanded its stake when the company helped OpenGov acquire the tech firm Cartegraph.

“What we were looking for was a new age, cloud-native business that was having an impact on improving transparency of state and local governments,” Davis said.

About 1,900 government bodies in all 50 states use OpenGov systems, including Sandy Springs and Savannah. One-in-three U.S. citizens are served by agencies that use at least some portion of OpenGov’s suite of software.

OpenGov is known as a software-as-a-service company, selling subscriptions to its products based on how many products agencies use and how many employees have access to them.

Governments face a growing technological gap, more demand from constituents for greater transparency and improved digital and cloud-based services. Governments are also subjected to greater cybersecurity risks.

Cox executives see helping governments close the technology gap and improving constituent services as promising investment opportunities.

“This will be the first of many things you see us doing in this space,” Davis said.

Cox’s founding mission was informing the public and making the world more transparent, Davis said, and the work of OpenGov continues that legacy.

“This is an important time for our country in many ways,” Taylor said. “In 1920, when my great-grandfather was governor of Ohio, he expressed the need for our people to have ‘an abiding confidence’ in their government. Now, all these years later, we are very excited to help OpenGov grow and build for the future.”