News

Thoma Bravo will acquire 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. The transaction is expected to close late in the third quarter of this year. UBS Investment Bank was the lead investment adviser for Frontline while Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP and Cooley LLP served as legal advisers. And, Kirkland and Ellis LLP advised Thoma Bravo.

PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco, CA and Malvern, PA – August 4, 2017 – Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm, today announced that it will acquire Frontline Education (“Frontline”), an integrated insights partner serving more than 12,000 educational organizations across America. The transaction is expected to close late in the third quarter of 2017, subject to usual and customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Insight Venture Partners, a prior investor in Frontline, will retain a minority stake in the company. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Frontline, with its awarding-winning administrative and HR software solutions, serves more than 12,000 educational organizations across America, and enables them to make evidenced-based decisions that drive better outcomes for both educators and students. Across North America, major educational organizations rely on Frontline’s trusted solutions, with more than 5 million education employees and 1.2 million substitutes logging into its systems on a daily basis.

“This investment by one of the nation’s most astute evaluators of technology companies is extremely gratifying,” said Tim Clifford, President and Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Education. “We are a company of people passionately devoted to K-12 education, and our partnership with Thoma Bravo will allow us to become even more valuable to educators, school districts, communities and, most importantly, students.”

“Under Tim’s leadership Frontline has become one of the preeminent technology solutions providers focused on the human capital needs of K-12 school districts,” said Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “We look forward to supporting the company’s growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, while maintaining the high level of customer service for which Frontline is known.”

Brian Jaffee, a Vice President at Thoma Bravo, added: “Frontline is an incredible organization. We are thrilled about the partnership and the opportunity to work with the management team to help enhance Frontline’s market-leading platform of HR and administrative software solutions for the K-12 market.”

In the past three years, Frontline Education has significantly expanded its solutions-based portfolio through organic growth and 10 strategic acquisitions. The businesses acquired by Frontline Education have been similarly mission-driven to improve outcomes in K-12 education.

“Our relationship with Insight Venture Partners has built incredible momentum for Frontline in our efforts to better serve the education community, and we look forward to continuing that momentum via our partnership with Thoma Bravo,” said Mr. Clifford.

Frontline has approximately 650 employees in five locations around the U.S. The acquisition by Thoma Bravo is not expected to change the corporate headquarters, management team or employee base of the company.

UBS Investment Bank served as the lead investment advisor and 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 $17 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.