Thoma Bravo Announces Strategic Growth Investment in Venafi

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO and SALT LAKE CITY — December 10, 2020 —Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sector, today announced a strategic growth investment in Venafi®, the inventor and leading provider of machine identity management, valuing the company at $1.15 billion. Thoma Bravo’s investment is expected to accelerate Venafi’s technology innovation to capitalize on machine identity management’s growing importance as a cybersecurity trend. Existing investors, TCV and Foundation Capital, will remain shareholders. 

“Machine identity management is a top priority in cybersecurity because it is foundational for digital transformation,” said Jeff Hudson, CEO of Venafi. “Humans use usernames and passwords to identify themselves to machines. Machines also need to identify themselves to each other, but they use machine identities. Venafi created the category of machine identity management and our strategic vision remains unchanged: we are committed to creating a world where all machine identities are trusted and protected. Our strategic partnership with Thoma Bravo can help us realize our vision by capitalizing on market momentum and accelerating growth and product innovation.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Venafi as they continue to lead the machine identity protection market and expand their dynamic global customer base,” said Seth Boro, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Venafi created the rapidly growing machine identity management category they continue to lead, and we have watched the company’s growth accelerate as customers recognize the magnitude and complexity of their machine identity management needs. We look forward to leveraging Thoma Bravo’s operational capabilities and deep understanding of the cybersecurity market to help drive Venafi’s continued growth and market position.” 

“As digital transformation accelerates, it is clear that organizations worldwide have an urgent need for machine identity management,” said Chip Virnig, a Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Venafi’s consistent innovation and market leadership in this space has put the company in a prime position to continue to define and expand a global market. We are confident that Thoma Bravo’s operating capabilities and decades-long experience in the cybersecurity market can help supercharge Venafi’s already impressive growth trajectory.” 

Kirkland & Ellis is serving as legal counsel to Thoma Bravo. J.P. Morgan Securities is serving as financial advisors to Venafi.

About Thoma Bravo

Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors. With more than $73 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020, Thoma Bravo partners with management teams 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. The firm has offices in San Francisco and Chicago. For more information, visit thomabravo.com.

About Venafi

Venafi is the cybersecurity market leader in and the inventor of machine identity management, securing machine-to-machine connections and communications. Venafi protects machine identity types by orchestrating cryptographic keys and digital certificates for SSL/TLS, SSH, code signing, mobile and IoT. Venafi provides global visibility of machine identities and the risks associated with them for the extended enterprise—on premises, mobile, virtual, cloud and IoT—at machine speed and scale. Venafi puts this intelligence into action with automated remediation that reduces the security and availability risks connected with weak or compromised machine identities while safeguarding the flow of information to trusted machines and preventing communication with machines that are not trusted. 

With more than 30 patents, Venafi delivers innovative solutions for the world's most demanding, security-conscious Global 5000 organizations and government agencies. For more information, visit: www.venafi.com.