Software-focused buyout house Thoma Bravo has reached a deal to take Ping Identity private at a $2.8bn enterprise value.
The private equity firm offered $28.50 per share in an all-cash transaction representing a premium of 63% over the company’s closing price on the last trading day prior to the announcement.
The transaction was unanimously approved by the Ping Identity board of directors.
Ping Identity provides its customers with access to cloud, mobile, SaaS and on-premises applications and APIs.
Vista Equity Partners, which owns 9.7% of the company’s outstanding shares, has also agreed to vote in favour of the transaction. The buyout house acquired Ping in 2016.
Michael Fosnaugh, co-head of Vista’s flagship fund and senior managing director, and Ping Identity’s chairman of the board, said, “This transaction is a great outcome, and one we firmly believe maximizes value for all stakeholders.
“We wish Andre and the entire Ping Identity team continued success and thank them for their commitment and partnership over the last six years.”
Seth Bvoro, managing partner at Thoma Bravo, said, “A tectonic shift is occurring in intelligent identity solutions for the enterprise. Ping Identity’s unique capabilities and strong position in enterprise identity security make it a great platform to deliver customer outcomes, expand into new use cases and support digital transformations.”
Chip Virnig, partner at Thoma Bravo, added, “Ping Identity is a leader in intelligent identity solutions for the enterprise and is well-positioned to capitalize on the significant opportunities in the $50 billion Enterprise Identity security solutions area.
“Our shared commitment to growth and innovation, combined with Thoma Bravo’s significant security software investing and operational expertise, will enable Ping Identity to accelerate its cloud transformation and delivery of industry leading identity security experiences for the customers, employees and partners of large enterprises worldwide.”
Thoma Bravo is currently in the market raising its fifteenth flagship fund, and has collected a $100m commitment from PennSERS and up to $150m from the Texas County & District Retirement System. The firm closed its $17.8bn-Fund XIV vehicle in 2020.
It also raised $3.9bn for its third Discover Fund in late 2020, at the same time as closing Fund XIV.
Its recent deals in the enterprise software space include taking over software maker Anaplan for $9.6bn in June, and taking customer feedback software maker Medallia private for $6.4bn last year.
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