New Jersey company buying Beloit-based AccuLynx for $2.35 billion

A publicly- traded New Jersey company is acquiring Beloit-based roofing software company AccuLynx for $2.35 billion in what is likely the largest acquisition of a Beloit company in the city’s history.

Verisk, a global data analytics and technology provider to the insurance industry, announced on July 30 that its entered into an agreement to buy AccuLynx with the deal expected to close by the end of September.

“AccuLynx is a natural fit and extension of the solutions we provide insurance carriers, adjustors and contractors through our Property Estimating Solutions business,” Lee Shavel, Verisk CEO, said in the news release. “Together, we have an incredible opportunity to enhance the network effect of these businesses and create significant value for all parties in the insurance claims and restoration ecosystem, from insurers to contractors to policyholders.”

It’s a stunning amount for one of the region’s biggest business success stories of the past 20 years. AccuLynx was started by former Hononegah Community High School football star Rich Spanton in 2008.

Spanton, was a roofer by trade and owned Mastercraft Exteriors. As his company grew, he found it increasingly difficult to keep track of all the various forms and data needed for each project. Spanton created a software program to better manage the company and other contractors became interested and AccuLynx was born.

The company’s software now is used by thousands of contractors worldwide. AccuLynx has direct integrations with the three of the largest roofing material distributors in the U.S., QXO Inc. of Connecticut, SRS Distribution of Texas and Beloit’s own ABC Supply Inc. These integrations allow users to call up product catalogs, compare pricing and availability and order materials directly within the AccuLynx platform.

“The roofing industry needed a modern, complete business management platform designed by roofers, for roofers. With a team of incredibly loyal people, many of whom have been with us 20 years, we built something extraordinary,” Spanton said in the news release. Spanton was a first-team all-conference offensive lineman for Hononegah in 1994. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created and excited to see AccuLynx join Verisk.”

Spanton started the company in Rockton but moved the headquarters to Beloit in 2014. The company now is based on the Ironworks Campus and employs 125 people, according to ZoomInfo.com.

Verisk is based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and has more than 7,800 employees worldwide. In 2024, the company had $2.99 billion in revenue. The company’s stock is publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol VRSK.

The $2.35 billion is likely the most ever paid for a Beloit-based company. Way back in 1986, Harnischfeger Industries bought Beloit Corp. for $175 million. That would $505 million in today’s dollars.

In 2023, Regal Rexnord, which was then based in Beloit, acquired its rival, Altra Industrial Motion, for $5 billion in what was likely the biggest corporate deal of any kind in Beloit history. Regal Rexnord has since moved its headquarters to Milwaukee and now just has a handful of employees in South Beloit.