News

Thoma Bravo has acquired Frontline Education, a provider of administrative and HR software solutions for educational organizations. No financial terms were disclosed. As a result of the deal, Insight Venture Partners will retain a minority stake in Frontline. Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP and Cooley LLP provided legal advice for Frontline Education on the deal while Kirkland and Ellis advised Thoma Bravo.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO and MALVERN, Pa., Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Frontline Education (“Frontline”), an integrated insights partner serving more than 12,000 educational organizations representing over 80,000 schools across the United States. Former majority investor Insight Venture Partners will retain a minority interest in Frontline. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Frontline, with its award-winning administrative and HR software solutions, serves educational organizations across America and enables them to make informed decisions that improve outcomes for both educators and students. With more than 5 million education employees and 1.2 million substitutes logging into Frontline’s software on a daily basis, it is the education industry’s leading software solutions provider. Thoma Bravo’s partnership with Frontline validates the company’s long-term corporate vision, industry-leading integrated insights platform and capacity for future growth.

“Our relentless focus on developing superior human capital solutions for educational organizations has produced strong results – not only for our business, but for our clients as well,” said Tim Clifford, President and Chief Executive Officer of Frontline. “Thoma Bravo is an ideal partner for us as we continue to grow and expand our range of solutions to better serve the education community. The continued investment in our solutions allows us to further the Frontline mission.”

“Tim and his team have built the largest and fastest-growing software company focused on the human capital needs of K-12 organizations,” said Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “We are proud to support them as they continue to build out Frontline’s platform of HR and administrative software solutions for educational organizations and school systems across the country.”

Debt financing for the transaction was provided by Ares Capital Corporation, TPG Sixth Street Partners and KKR Capital Markets LLC. Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP and Cooley LLP served as legal advisors for Frontline Education. Thoma Bravo was advised by Kirkland and Ellis LLP.

About Thoma Bravo, LLC
Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors. With a series of funds representing more than $18 billion in capital commitments, Thoma Bravo partners with a company’s management team to implement operating best practices, invest in growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings, with the goal of increasing the value of the business. Representative past and present portfolio companies include industry leaders such as Blue Coat Systems, Deltek, Digital Insight, Global Healthcare Exchange, Hyland Software, iPipeline, PowerPlan, Qlik, Riverbed, SailPoint, SolarWinds, SonicWall, Sparta Systems and TravelClick. The firm has offices in San Francisco and Chicago. For more information, visit ThomaBravo.com.

About Frontline Education
Frontline Education is an integrated insights partner serving more than 12,000 educational organizations representing over 80,000 schools and millions of educators, administrators and support personnel in their efforts to develop the next generation of learners. With nearly 20 years of experience serving the front line of education, Frontline Education is dedicated to providing actionable insights that enable informed decisions and drive engagement across school systems.

Bringing together the best education software solutions into one unified platform, Frontline makes it possible to efficiently and effectively manage the administrative needs of the education community, including their recruiting and hiring, employee absences and attendance, professional growth and special education and interventions programs. Frontline Education’s corporate headquarters are in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with offices in Andover, Massachusetts, Rockville Centre, New York, Salt Lake City, Utah and Chicago, Illinois. Learn more at FrontlineEducation.com