Anaplan taken private in $10.7bn deal

June 2022 | DEALFRONT | PRIVATE EQUITY & VENTURE CAPITAL

Financier Worldwide Magazine

June 2022 Issue

In a deal that will take the business planning software company private, Anaplan, Inc. is to be acquired by Thoma Bravo, a private equity and growth capital firm with a focus on investing in software and technology companies.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Thoma Bravo will acquire Anaplan for $66 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $10.7bn.

Using its significant experience supporting industry leading, growing software franchises, as well as its financial and operational resources, Thoma Bravo intends to accelerate Anaplan’s strategy by prioritising its best in class innovative platform, time to value and brand reputation – attracting and retaining customers, employees and partners to continue leading the large and expanding connected planning segment.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Anaplan board of directors and is expected to close in the first half of 2022 subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Anaplan stockholders and regulatory approval.

“We are thrilled to partner with Thoma Bravo to build on the strength of our innovative platform and capitalise on the massive opportunity and incredible demand we are seeing,” said Frank Calderoni, chairman and chief executive of Anaplan. “This is a clear validation of our team’s outstanding work and the start of an exciting new chapter for Anaplan, our customers and our partner ecosystem. We are confident that Thoma Bravo’s resources and insights will help us accelerate and scale our growth strategy.”

With offices in Chicago, Miami and San Francisco, Thoma Bravo is one of the largest private equity firms in the world with more than $103bn in assets under management. The firm collaborates with its portfolio companies to implement operating best practices, drive growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings.

Over the past 20 years, Thoma Bravo has acquired or invested in more than 375 companies representing over $190bn in enterprise value.

“Anaplan is a clear leader in connected planning, solving critical business priorities for the world’s largest enterprises as they implement strategic and complex digital transformations,” said Holden Spaht, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “We look forward to leveraging Thoma Bravo’s extensive operational and investment expertise in enterprise software to support Anaplan in its future growth.”

Founded in 2006, Anaplan’s Hyperblock technology contextualises real-time performance and forecasts future outcomes for faster, confident decisions. Based in San Francisco, the company has over 175 partners and more than 1900 customers worldwide.

Acting as financial advisers to Anaplan are Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Qatalyst Partners, with Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP serving as legal advisers to Anaplan. Kirkland and Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Thoma Bravo. Financing for the transaction is being provided by Owl Rock Capital, Blackstone Credit, Golub Capital and Apollo Global Management through their respective managed funds.

“Anaplan has built a tremendously successful business through product innovation and a rigorous approach to delivering value for their customers and partner ecosystem,” concluded Tara Gadgil, a partner at Thoma Bravo. “We look forward to working closely with Anaplan’s talented and experienced team to continue delivering cloud-native software as a service solutions at scale.”

Fraser Tennant