Identity security company SailPoint Technologies will be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $6.9 billion, the companies have confirmed.
Still, the deal involves a "go-shop" period that allows SailPoint to solicit alternative buyout bids through May 16, 2022.
If Thoma Bravo completes the SailPoint acquisition, it will be technology M&A deal number 360 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2022.
The deal reinforces Thoma Bravo's expanding reach across the cybersecurity market. The private equity firm also owns stakes in Barracuda Networks, Proofpoint and Sophos, among many other firms.
SailPoint: M&A Experience and MSP Security Partnerships
SailPoint was growing ahead of the Thoma Bravo deal. The company's total revenue was $135.6 million in Q4 of 2021, up 31% increase from Q4 2020.
SailPoint has M&A experience. The company acquired Intello, an early-stage SaaS security management company, in February 2021.
Moreover, SailPoint has MSP partnerships in place. For instance, Rackspace joined the SailPoint cloud hosting partner program in 2018. That relationship enables organizations to deploy SailPoint’s IdentityIQ identity management software or SecurityIQ data security platform in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure environments, Rackspace and SailPoint said at the time.
Thoma Bravo Acquires SailPoint: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the deal, SailPoint CEO Mark McClain said:
“Identity security is core to cyber security and businesses have realized that to fuel business growth and success, they must start with identity as the foundation for secure business transformation. We've experienced rapid growth and see a tremendous opportunity ahead of us to continue to set the pace in the identity security market as the category leader. This transaction delivers significant immediate cash value to our stockholders and maximizes the value of their shares. The transaction will also allow us to pursue our long-term growth trajectory with greater flexibility and effectiveness to support our customers, expand our markets, and accelerate innovation in identity security with the backing of a strong financial partner with deep sector expertise. Thoma Bravo’s belief in our vision for identity security aligns strongly with our desire to accelerate and extend our leadership for years to come.”
Added Seth Boro, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo:
“SailPoint is ideally positioned to capitalize on the large and growing demand from modern enterprises for robust identity security solutions that secure their business and reduce risk. Their market-leading identity security platform provides the autonomous and intelligent approach that the market requires today, especially among larger enterprises and as hybrid working becomes more common. We look forward to partnering with Mark and his talented team to drive SailPoint’s next chapter of growth.”
Concluded Andrew Almeida, a partner at Thoma Bravo:
“SailPoint is the clear leader in providing trusted identity security to the most well-respected global brands. As digital transformation becomes imperative for enterprises of all sizes to remain competitive, SailPoint’s innovative products provide the foundation for a robust security infrastructure that keeps employees and sensitive information safe. We are excited to leverage Thoma Bravo’s deep software and operational capabilities to support SailPoint’s mission to be the de facto identity security platform player of choice.”
Assuming alternative bidders don't surface, Thoma Bravo expects to complete the SailPoint acquisition in the second half of 2022.
Identity and Access Management: M&A Activity
Meanwhile, M&A activity in the identity and access management (IAM) market has been strong. Here is a regularly updated list of IAM mergers, acquisitions and investments.
Stay tuned for additional updates to this story.
