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On June 2, San Francisco, CA-based Thoma Bravo announced an agreement to acquire Herndon, VA-based Exostar, LLC, a leader in trusted, secure business collaboration for the highly-regulated aerospace and defense, life sciences and healthcare industries. Thoma Bravo’s strategic investment is expected to help Exostar accelerate business growth and broaden its existing customer base. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Exostar’s platform creates trusted communities where companies can manage the complexity and mitigate the risks associated with collaborating with external partners. Thoma Bravo plans to leverage its expertise in enterprise software solutions for complex industries to partner with Exostar’s existing management to further develop and expand the company’s current capabilities, particularly in cybersecurity, to position the company for further growth.
“Our corporate vision remains unchanged…to be a trusted, innovative leader in secure business collaboration for highly-regulated industries. Thoma Bravo’s strategic investment positions us to more rapidly expand our community and deliver the digital trust that must exist between an enterprise and its suppliers, customers and partners,” said Richard Addi, president and CEO at Exostar. “This transaction reflects the logical next step in our company’s evolution. We can leverage Thoma Bravo’s deep technology and security experience to take full advantage of our unique market position. Together, we plan to accelerate time-to-market for the Exostar suite of solutions that enable global enterprises to execute their mission-critical supply chain and drug development initiatives.”
Exostar was developed as a joint venture between some of the world’s leading businesses, including BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Rolls-Royce, and, more recently, Merck. Initially formed as a B2B aerospace and defense industry exchange, the company’s secure platform now serves over 150,000 organizations worldwide in not only aerospace and defense, but the life sciences and healthcare markets as well. Exostar’s former shareholders plan to remain actively involved as customers and advisors offering guidance on the product roadmap and strategic platform investments.
Paul Kaminski, who has served as chairman of the board at Exostar since the company’s inception, said, “Exostar has been a successful endeavor for its six joint venture owners over the past two decades. Now, the company has reached a point where a more growth-focused model can allow Exostar to further innovate and expand its capabilities. The expertise, energy and experience Thoma Bravo brings to Exostar should help enable the company to pursue substantial opportunities for growth, while remaining deeply committed to its existing customer base.”
“Exostar’s identity access management and secure collaboration software is utilized by some of the most respected and well-known enterprise customers in aerospace and defense, life sciences and healthcare,” said Carl Press, a principal at Thoma Bravo. “The company’s understanding of complex organizations’ procurement and collaboration needs is a key differentiator inherent in its products. We’re thrilled to partner with Richard Addi and the Exostar team to accelerate the company’s innovation and growth over both the near and long term.”
Source: Thoma Bravo
