LEHI, Utah & SANTA MONICA, Calif. & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DigiCert, Inc., the world’s leading provider of TLS/SSL, PKI and IoT security solutions for identity and encryption, today announced that Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., a leading private investment firm, and TA Associates, an existing investor and leading global growth private equity firm, have reached a definitive agreement to make a strategic growth investment in the company. As a part of the transaction, Clearlake and TA will become equal partners in DigiCert. The company will continue to be led by CEO John Merrill and the current management team, who are investing alongside Clearlake and TA in the transaction. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
DigiCert provides certificate management platforms and industry-best customer support in multiple languages through a diverse staff, with offices located across the globe. The company combines a modern infrastructure with locally focused solutions to enhance security for its customers anywhere they conduct business and in compliance with local requirements.
“DigiCert continues to experience strong growth within our SSL business as well as enterprise PKI and IoT security, and we are addressing the needs for improved automation and certificate management,” said DigiCert CEO John Merrill. “We’re excited to continue our partnership with TA and welcome Clearlake to accelerate our growth, advance our industry leadership and continue to innovate for our customers.”
“Having served as an active investor in DigiCert for nearly seven years, we have had the distinct honor and privilege of watching the company flourish from a 40-person upstart technology company to a leading provider of digital certificates with more than 1,000 employees globally,” said Jason Werlin, a managing director at TA Associates. “Specifically, DigiCert’s solutions and loyal customer base have strategically positioned the company to capitalize on both organic and inorganic initiatives to further scale its business. We look forward to continuing to provide support to DigiCert and working collaboratively with management alongside Clearlake as the company enters its next phase of growth.”
Mr. Werlin will become chairman of the DigiCert Board of Directors upon the closing of the transaction, and Hythem El-Nazer, a managing director at TA, will join the DigiCert Board of Directors.
“DigiCert is an exciting business with visionary technology, led by John and the management team, that seamlessly addresses security needs for customers of all sizes across the globe,” said Behdad Eghbali, co-founder and managing partner, and Prashant Mehrotra, partner, of Clearlake Capital Group. “We believe the company is well positioned for further growth due to its solid base of recurring subscription revenue and significant market trends as customers increasingly demand security and identity solutions with the strongest encryption and highest authentication standards. We are pleased to join TA as partners in DigiCert and look forward to utilizing our O.P.S.® frameworkto support the team in continuing to aggressively grow the company organically and through acquisition.”
DigiCert has a history of innovation, including being the first to launch an independent log for Google Certificate Transparency, offer TLS for the TOR browser and partner with Microsoft to enable EV code signing certificates. DigiCert also leads with certificate-based encryption, authentication, integrity and identity for the IoT. The company operates PKI for many IoT device industry consortia and manufacturers, and has issued billions of device certificates to-date.
“DigiCert is grateful for the partnership with Thoma Bravo, which has allowed us to achieve operational excellence. They were the right partner at the right time to help us drive the growth that we’ve achieved,” said Merrill.
“Our DigiCert investment is a powerful example of Thoma Bravo partnering with management to dramatically scale a business through organic growth initiatives and acquisition,” said Robert Sayle, a partner at Thoma Bravo. “DigiCert has maintained an impressive growth rate throughout our investment and is on track for continued industry leadership this year and beyond. We appreciate the commitment and partnership of John Merrill and his outstanding management team. Today, DigiCert is strategically positioned for continued success with its new partners, and we wish them well.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2019, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
About DigiCert
DigiCert is the world’s leading provider of scalable TLS/SSL, PKI solutions for identity and encryption. The most innovative companies, including 89 percent of Fortune 500 companies and 97 out of the 100 top global banks, choose DigiCert for its expertise in identity and encryption for web servers and Internet of Things devices. DigiCert supports TLS/SSL and other digital certificates for PKI deployments at any scale through its certificate lifecycle management platform, CertCentral®. The company is recognized for its enterprise-grade certificate management platform, fast and knowledgeable customer support, and market-leading security solutions. For the latest DigiCert news and updates, visit digicert.com?or follow?@digicert.
About Clearlake
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a leading private investment firm founded in 2006. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm’s core target sectors are software and technology-enabled services; industrials and energy; and consumer. Clearlake currently has over $10 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 100 investments. More information is available at www.clearlake.com.
About TA Associates
TA Associates is one of the most experienced global growth private equity firms. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $32.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $2 billion per year. The firm’s more than 85 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.
About Thoma Bravo
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 $30 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, TravelClick and Veracode. The firm has offices in San Francisco and Chicago. For more information, visit www.thomabravo.com.
