Private equity firm Thoma Bravo has purchased Magnet Forensics, a digital investigation solutions provider, for approximately $1.34 billion, according to a prepared statement.
This is technology M&A deal number 22 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2023.
Thoma Bravo, founded in 2008, is based in Chicago, Illinois. The company has 247 employees listed on LinkedIn. Thoma Bravo's areas of expertise include providing capital and strategic support to software and technology companies from around the world.
Magnet, founded in 2009, is based in Waterloo, Ontario. The company has 476 employees listed on LinkedIn. Magnet's areas of expertise include cybersecurity, digital forensics software and data recovery.
What the Magnet Forensics Acquisition Means for Thoma Bravo
Thoma Bravo intends to combine Magnet with digital forensics solutions provider Grayshift, which the private equity firm gained majority control over in July 2022. Magnet founders Adam Belsher and Jad Saliba and Grayshift founders David Miles and Braden Thomas will each hold leadership positions in the combined company. Also, Magnet's Chair Jim Balsillie will serve on the board of the combined company.
Together, Magnet and GrayShift will "create a powerful end-to-end digital investigations platform empowering more public safety agencies around the world to seek justice, solve crimes and protect victims," Thoma Bravo noted. They will provide organizations with a platform that they can use to extract, process, examine and manage digital forensic evidence.
Thoma Bravo Acquires ForgeRock, Ping Identity
The Magnet acquisition comes after Thoma Bravo in October 2022 purchased ForgeRock, an identity and access management software (IAM) company, for $2.3 billion. Previously, Thoma Bravo acquired IAM solutions provider Ping Identity in August 2022 for $2.8 billion.
Along with Magnet, ForgeRock and Ping Identity, Thoma Bravo owns SailPoint Technologies, Proofpoint and several other cybersecurity companies. Thoma Bravo has completed more than 420 transactions to date and manages more than 70 portfolio companies.
