Flexera Agrees to Sell a Majority Interest to Thoma Bravo

Flexera, headquartered in suburban Chicago, uniquely serves companies that use technology and those that produce it. The company’s Flexera division provides IT management solutions that help enterprises maximize business value from their technology investments. The company’s Revenera division provides solutions that help technology companies build better products, accelerate time to value and monetize what matters.

Growth and innovation

“This is a resounding vote of confidence in the growth Flexera has shown and the strategic initiatives we’ve undertaken to address the exponential challenges faced by organizations today,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Flexera.

“In order to give enterprises the insight and tools to control their rapidly expanding IT ecosystems, we’re rolling out Flexera One,” continued Ryan. “Flexera One is our SaaS-based IT management solution designed with and for organizations with highly complex hybrid environments. With Flexera One, IT leaders can visualize their entire estate and make data-driven IT decisions from on-premises to SaaS to the cloud—all from a single user interface.

“Our Revenera division continues to post amazing growth quarter after quarter,” Ryan added, “fueled by innovative solutions that help technology companies drive recurring revenue. To cite just one example, this year Revenera became the first vendor to successfully combine software usage analytics and monetization in a single platform.

“The performance of our Flexera and Revenera divisions,” noted Ryan, “brought our former investors at Thoma Bravo back a second time.”

Re-establishing a partnership

Thoma Bravo had previously acquired a majority interest in the company in 2008, when Flexera was spun off from then-parent company Macrovision. “We know Jim and his executive team very well,” said Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Seth Boro, “and we support Flexera’s ambitious vision. The company’s management team has accomplished a great deal over the past 12 years.

“Jim and his team have positioned Flexera for sustained growth by focusing on the strategic challenges enterprises face with complex IT infrastructures,” Boro continued. “Flexera One is the first solution that gives IT executives the ability to see and manage their assets seamlessly across on-premises, SaaS and cloud.

“And the Revenera division is extremely successful at recognizing and delivering what technology companies need to understand and monetize usage,” Boro added.

“We’re thrilled at this chance to ‘get the band back together,’” concluded Boro. “And we want all this great work not only to continue, but to accelerate.”

A future full of promise

Thoma Bravo has helped build some of the world’s leading companies in software applications, infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Flexera is the largest homegrown technology company in the Chicago area, with more than 1,300 employees and offices on four continents. The company was named to Inc. magazine’s 2020 Best Workplaces list and has been named a Top Workplace by the Chicago Tribune for nine consecutive years.

“We have had a productive partnership with Flexera over the last nine years during which time the company has become a leader in its key segments while experiencing consistent growth in recurring revenue and profitability,” said Karen Frank, Senior Managing Director of Equities at Ontario Teachers’. “We look forward to working with the company’s management and our co-shareholders Thoma Bravo and TA Associates in supporting Flexera’s next stage of growth.”

“It is a pleasure to welcome Thoma Bravo as an investor in Flexera,” said Harry D. Taylor, a Managing Director at TA Associates. “We have enjoyed our partnership with the Flexera management team and Ontario Teachers’ over the past three years, helping Flexera to execute on its impressive growth strategies. We look forward to continuing to support the Flexera team and work alongside our fellow investors.”

“We’re grateful for the continued partnership, support and guidance TA Associates and Ontario Teachers’ provide,” Ryan stated. “And we look forward to this exciting next step with Thoma Bravo and to expanding the ways we will deliver for our customers.”

UBS is acting as financial advisor to Thoma Bravo, and Kirkland & Ellis is serving as legal counsel. BofA Securities and Barclays are acting as financial advisors, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges as legal advisor to Flexera, TA Associates and Ontario Teachers’. Goodwin Procter is serving as separate counsel to TA Associates.