News

Vista Equity Partners has agreed to acquire Norwalk, Connecticut-based Datto, a provider of data protection solutions for businesses. No financial terms were disclosed. Vista is planning on merging Datto with portfolio company Autotask.

PRESS RELEASE

NORWALK, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Datto, the leading provider of total data protection solutions for businesses around the world, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading investment firm focused on software, data and technology-enabled businesses. The acquisition combines the leading backup and disaster recovery solutions with Vista’s strategic and operational expertise for supporting high-growth technology companies.
Datto develops business continuity solutions that secure business data for over 100,000 companies around the world. Its suite of services includes backup and disaster recovery (“BDR”), cloud-to-cloud backup services for SaaS applications and network continuity services.

Vista’s simultaneous acquisition of Datto and merger with existing Vista portfolio company Autotask immediately provides significant opportunities for the IT channel. The combination of Autotask’s market leading IT management solutions with Datto’s award-winning data protection solutions creates a single provider able to meet the needs of Managed Service Providers (“MSPs”) and IT Service Providers (“ITSPs”) from operations through service delivery, including professional services automation (“PSA”), backup and disaster recovery, networking continuity, file sync and share, and remote monitoring and management (“RMM”). The combined organizations have approximately 1,300 employees with offices in nine countries. Their nearly 13,000 customers service more than 500,000 SMBs in 125 countries worldwide.

“We’re thrilled to bring together the complementary skills and world-class service of two global market leaders, Autotask and Datto,” said Brian Sheth, Co-Founder and President of Vista Equity Partners. “Over the past three years, we have worked closely with the Autotask team to accelerate growth and expand its Unified Platform. Bringing Autotask together with Datto’s impressive talent and deep expertise in backup and networking solutions will take us to the next level and deliver extraordinary tools and services to MSPs worldwide.”

“We’re honored to be joining forces with both the world’s premier software investor, Vista Equity Partners, and with Autotask, the provider of the most essential tools for the MSP space,” said Datto’s founder and CEO, Austin McChord. “This unique combination of talent with a track record of success marks a new chapter that will make an even bigger impact for our Managed Service Provider partners, by delivering an unprecedented set of capabilities for them to serve millions of small businesses in the future.”

“With the powerful combination of the Autotask Unified PSA-RMM platform and Datto’s industry leading business continuity solutions, together we can now deliver unprecedented innovation and unmatched levels of value and service to our customers and partners worldwide,” said Mark Cattini, President and CEO, Autotask. “This merger marks a natural step in our evolution as we continue to bring more managed service offerings to the channel. We look forward to using our combined scale to do even more to help our customers grow, succeed and increase profitability. We are excited to get going.”

A combined management team will lead the merged entity with Datto Founder and Chief Executive Officer Austin McChord as CEO. Autotask CEO Mark Cattini will continue to work closely with Austin and the combined team as a strategic advisor to the Board of Directors. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. Terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Datto was advised by Morgan Stanley on the sale.

About Autotask
Autotask Corporation helps IT organizations worldwide work smarter with a complete, cloud-based IT business management platform that enables efficiency, accountability and access to the metrics that drive intelligent business decisions. With built-in best practices and workflow automation, Autotask speeds time to revenue while continually improving service delivery. Autotask is available in seven languages and used in over 90 countries. Headquartered in New York, Autotask has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Beijing, London, Munich and Sydney. Visit autotask.com for more information.

About Datto
Datto protects business data and provides secure connectivity for tens of thousands of the world’s fastest growing companies. Datto’s Total Data Protection solutions deliver uninterrupted access to business data on site, in transit and in the cloud. Thousands of IT service providers globally rely on Datto’s combination of pioneering technology and dedicated services to ensure businesses are always on, no matter what. Datto is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut and has offices in Monroe, Rochester, Boston, Portland, Toronto, London, Singapore, Sydney, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. Learn more at www.datto.com.
About Vista Equity Partners Vista Equity Partners, a U.S.-based investment firm with offices in Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, and Oakland with more than $30 billion in cumulative capital commitments, currently invests in software, data and technology-enabled organizations led by world-class management teams with long-term perspectives. Vista is a value-added investor, contributing professional expertise and multi-level support towards companies’ realization of their full potential. Vista’s investment approach is anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions, and proven management techniques that yield flexibility and opportunity in private equity investing. For more information, please visit http://www.vistaequitypartners.com.