News

Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Silicon Valley-based Apttus, a provider of a middle office platform that allows companies to automate and optimize revenue and commercial relationship management processes. No financial terms were disclosed. The deal is expected to close in early October. Goldman Sachs was the lead financial adviser to Apttus on the deal while Cooley LLP served as legal adviser. And, Kirkland and Ellis LLP served as legal adviser to Thoma Bravo.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO and SAN MATEO, Calif., Sept. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in Apttus, the global Middle Office leader. The transaction is expected to close in early October, subject to usual and customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Apttus’ solutions automate, optimize and apply artificial intelligence to the most important set of business processes for any enterprise – generating revenue and managing key commercial relationships. Apttus provides market-leading Quote-to-Cash, Contract Lifecycle Management and other Middle Office solutions. Its customers include hundreds of the Global 2000 and is expanding rapidly as enterprises of all sizes are recognizing the importance of Middle Office solutions to their growth and success.

“Apttus was founded to help enterprises manage revenue and commercial relationships, and passionately delivering that value to our customers has made us the de facto selection and industry gold standard for large enterprises,” said Neehar Giri, Apttus Co-Founder, President and Chief Solutions Architect. “Apttus’ innovation is directly responsible for the creation and advancement of the Middle Office, holistically addressing the space between CRM and ERP for hundreds of customers. Our partnership with Thoma Bravo will allow Apttus to accelerate growth, scale to new heights, and capitalize on an enormous market opportunity.”

Thoma Bravo is a longtime investor in the software sector and differentiates itself within the private equity community by building long-term partnerships with management and creating value by applying operational excellence learned from its unparalleled experience in software investing. Concurrent with the closing of the transaction, David Murphy, the former President and COO of Blue Coat Systems and a current Thoma Bravo Operating Partner, will join Apttus’ Office of the CEO as Executive Chairman.

“Apttus has created an entirely automated Quote-to-Cash software solution and is the only end-to-end platform provider in the highly strategic Middle Office market,” said Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Apttus’ platform is the commercial backbone for many of the largest companies in the world and we look forward to taking incremental strides in delivering the best possible customer experience.”

“We are excited to partner with Apttus to continue driving the company’s impressive momentum and accelerating growth,” added Robert Sayle, a Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Our partnership will provide operational experience and resources that can further enhance the company’s world-class technology, speed to market, and customer support.”

“Apttus was among the first partners that supported the Salesforce ecosystem by building on our platform, and we’re excited to see the growth and success they’ve achieved,” said Tyler Prince, EVP of Industries and Partners at Salesforce. “The partnership with Thoma Bravo will further enhance the value that Apttus provides to customers as a key member of the Salesforce ecosystem.”

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as the lead financial advisor and Cooley LLP served as legal advisor for Apttus. Kirkland and Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Thoma Bravo and Deutsche Bank Credit Solutions & Direct Lending is providing financing for the transaction. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

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 $26 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 ABC Financial, Blue Coat Systems, Deltek, Digital Insight, Frontline Education, Global Healthcare Exchange, Hyland Software, Imprivata, 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 Apttus
Apttus is a Silicon Valley-based global provider of Apttus Omni, the Middle Office platform that allows enterprises to automate and optimize their most critical revenue and commercial relationship management processes. Apttus is powered by the most advanced technologies from Salesforce, Microsoft and IBM. Analysts rank Apttus as the global gold standard for Quote-to-Cash (QTC) and Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions. Apttus’ innovations include Max, the company’s Applied Artificial Intelligence that enables enterprises to achieve superior business outcomes. Apttus partners with a world-class ecosystem. Apttus customers include hundreds of the world’s mid-sized organizations and the who’s who of the Global 1000.