Thoma Bravo agrees to acquire digital forensics firm Magnet Forensics for over $1B - TechCrunch

Thoma Bravo, the backstage equity and maturation superior firm, contiguous announced that it would walk $1.8 cardinal CAD (~$1.34 billion) to get Magnet Forensics, a Waterloo-based institution making bundle utilized by defence forces and businesses to analyse cybersecurity threats.

Magnet Forensics volition beryllium purchased by a recently created corp controlled by Thoma Bravo, Morpheus Purchaser Inc., which volition wage Magnet Forensics shareholders a 15% premium implicit Thursday’s closing terms connected the Toronto Stock Exchange. Post-buy, Morpheus volition beryllium merged with mobile instrumentality forensics outfit Grayshift, which Thoma Bravo acquired bulk power of past July.

“We look guardant to bringing unneurotic the complementary capabilities of Magnet and Grayshift to make a person successful the integer forensics and cyber information space,,” Thoma Bravo spouse Hudson Smith said successful a property release. “Digital grounds is an progressively captious facet of investigations and the combined institution volition beryllium well-positioned to further marketplace expansion, accelerate innovation and supply adjacent greater solutions to its customers.”

Launched successful 2010, Magnet Forensics develops integer probe bundle that acquires, analyzes, reports connected and manages grounds from computers, mobile devices, net of things devices and unreality services. The institution was founded by Jad Saliba, a Waterloo determination constabulary constable who worked successful the constabulary force’s high-tech crimes unit. After incubating Magnet Forensics’ bundle astatine the unit, Saliba decided to onslaught retired connected his ain and merchantability the tech for a licensing fee, partnering with Adam Belsher, past a BlackBerry elder executive.

Before going public, Magnet Forensics attracted an concern from In-Q-Tel, the nonprofit task limb of the U.S. quality community. The institution claims that its bundle is utilized by much than 4,000 nationalist and backstage assemblage customers — e.g. constabulary forces, quality agencies, taxation officials, borderline guards, and militaries — successful implicit 100 countries, helping investigators support assets and defender nationalist security.

Business was booming anterior to the acquisition (granted, Thoma Bravo archetypal submitted a connection aboriginal past October). During its Q3 2022 net call, Magnet Forensics reported that yearly recurring gross accrued 50% year-over-year to scope $80.9 cardinal portion EBITDA — net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — climbed 25% to $5.9 million.

Magnet benefitted from the expanding marketplace for integer forensics, which is expected to turn from $5.8 cardinal successful 2022 to $10.9 cardinal successful 2028, according to a caller Imarc report.

Adam Belsher, who serves arsenic Grayshift’s CEO, says that the operation of Grayshift’s mobile entree and extraction capabilities and Magnet’s integer probe suite volition presumption the merged firms powerfully — allowing customers to amended extract, process, examine, collaborate connected and negociate integer forensic evidence.

“We judge the operation of Magnet and Grayshift volition unlock tremendous worth for our customers by further integrating and expanding our merchandise suite which volition effect successful much seamless workflows successful the betterment and investigation of captious integer grounds to investigations and yet lend to our shared ngo of the pursuit of justice,” Belsher said successful a statement. “We look guardant to partnering with Thoma Bravo and Grayshift to physique upon our integer probe suite to further innovate and proceed to service a increasing fig of organizations and usage cases.”

For Thoma Bravo, which present has an estimated implicit $114 cardinal successful assets nether management, Magnet Forensics is the latest successful a bid of high-profile bundle task purchases. In 2022, the steadfast spent billions of dollars buying cybersecurity startups Ping Identity, Sailpoint, ForgeRock, Bottomline Technologies and Coupa Software.