Firm Behind Argus Ends Search For Buyer, Replaces CEO, Chairman
The maker of Argus, a prolific piece of software in commercial real estate, concluded a review of strategic alternatives this week and replaced its CEO.
Altus Group announced Jim Hannon’s immediate departure from the firm’s top spot Thursday along with its third-quarter results. He is replaced by Mike Gordon, who served as the firm's CEO until 2020 and described the company on its earnings call this week as at a “critical inflection point.”
The Canadian software and data analytics firm confirmed rumors in August that it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. After looking at the market, executives opted to keep the firm as a publicly traded company and prioritize growing its revenue base.
“As Altus Group enters its next growth phase, our focus shifts from operational build-out to accelerating market adoption of our new product innovations and improving our profitability and focus across the business,” Gordon told analysts on the firm’s earnings call.
Gordon said Hannon was involved in conversations about whether he should be replaced.
“As we also talked with Jim, we just came to the same conclusion, and that was how we jumped into this as we were going to enter into 2026,” he said.
The strategic review process did attract potential buyers that had “pretty good” offers, Gordon said. But leadership ultimately decided that it had developed a plan that offered the best potential return for shareholders.
The firm doubled its adjusted earnings per share in the third quarter compared to the prior year, with revenue up 2.2% to $133.3M and a profit from continuing operations of $500K, up from a $2.9M loss.
Gordon said that Altus Group could sell some of its noncore business to boost share value in the coming quarters. The firm is continuing to position itself as a pure-play software, data and analytics platform. Its Argus platform includes solutions for valuation, portfolio and property management, debt management, and data analytics and visualization.
Along with Hannon’s exit, Raymond Mikulich stepped down as chairman of the board of directors but stayed on as a member, which the company said was part of its commitment to succession planning and refreshment. Gordon has been appointed executive chair immediately and will return as CEO in the first quarter.
Altus Group didn’t provide a look into what it uncovered during its strategic review — Gordon told analysts on the earnings call that more details would come at its Nov. 20 investor day conference — but executives suggested that they were looking to expand market share and cut costs.
The firm’s improved third-quarter performance was driven by revenue growth along with portfolio optimization, more efficient service delivery and restructuring initiatives, Chief Financial Officer Pawan Chhabra said.
Amid the shake-up in senior leadership, the company also narrowed its guidance for the year toward the low end, and its stock slid by more than 4% after it released its earnings Thursday and was down by more than 15% in early trading Friday.
