Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is acquiring identity and access management (IAM) software company ForgeRock for $2.3 billion in cash, the companies have disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023.
This is technology M&A deal number 886 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2022.
ForgeRock Identity Business Performance; Thoma Bravo Security Investments
ForgeRock was growing ahead of the M&A sale but generating net losses. Indeed, revenue was $47.7 million in Q2 of 2022, up 8% from Q2 of 2021, the company disclosed in August 2022. GAAP net loss was $22.4 million, compared to $10.1 million in Q2 of 2021. Like many other software companies, ForgeRock has been shifting to cloud-based subscription services. That shift is showing progress but not yet complete. The evidence: SaaS as a percentage of ARR (annual recurring revenue) was 53% in Q2 of 2022, the company said in August 2022.
On the partner front, ForgeRock and Secret Double Octopus (SDO) in August 2022 announced plans to extend ForgeRock’s passwordless and Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) capabilities to enterprise workstations and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Thoma Bravo has extensive experience acquiring security-focused technology companies. Example investments include:
- identity security company Ping Identity,
- identity security company SailPoint Technologies;
- email security firm Proofpoint;
- MSP software providers ConnectWise and N-able; and
- MSP-friendly security company Sophos.
Thoma Bravo Acquires ForgeRock: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the Thoma Bravo deal, ForgeRock CEO Fran Rosch said:
“We are pleased to partner with Thoma Bravo to build on the strength of our comprehensive platform. The transaction offers a unique opportunity to create value for all of our stakeholders and is a clear validation of our team’s outstanding work and the start of an exciting new chapter for ForgeRock, our customers, and our partner ecosystem. We are confident that Thoma Bravo’s resources and insights will help us continue to drive innovation in our platform and deliver even more value for customers.”
Added Chip Virnig, a partner at Thoma Bravo:
“Identity-centric cybersecurity solutions are a critical enabler for businesses to digitally transform their operations, and ForgeRock’s solutions combine both the advanced security and customer usability needed in the market. We look forward to partnering with ForgeRock to leverage our deep sector expertise and support the company to capitalize on this tremendous market opportunity.”
ForgeRock will announce Q3 financial results in November 9, 2022, but an earnings call is not planned amid the company sale.
