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On January 20, Canada-based Magnet Forensics Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with Morpheus Purchaser Inc., a newly created corporation controlled by Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm, whereby the purchaser will acquire the company, subject to obtaining shareholder and other customary approvals. The agreement represents an aggregate total equity value of approximately CA$1.8 billion on a fully diluted, in-the-money, treasury method basis and inclusive of rollover shares. Upon completion of the transaction, Magnet will become a privately held company.
Following the closing of the transaction, Thoma Bravo intends to combine the company and Grayshift LLC, which Thoma Bravo acquired majority control of in July 2022. The companies’ complementary offerings are expected to create a powerful end-to-end digital investigations platform empowering more public safety agencies around the world to seek justice, solve crimes, and protect victims. Grayshift is a leading provider of mobile device digital forensics, specializing in lawful access and extraction. By combining Grayshift’s mobile access and extraction capabilities with the company’s digital investigation suite, customers are expected to be able to leverage the platform to extract, process, examine, collaborate on and manage digital forensic evidence.
Adam Belsher and Jad Saliba, founders of Magnet, and David Miles and Braden Thomas, founders of Grayshift, will each hold critical leadership positions in the combined company. Magnet’s Chair, Jim Balsillie, will serve on the board of the combined company.
“We believe the combination of Magnet and Grayshift will unlock tremendous value for our customers by further integrating and expanding our product suite which will result in more seamless workflows in the recovery and analysis of critical digital evidence to investigations and ultimately contribute to our shared mission of the pursuit of justice,” said Adam Belsher, CEO of Magnet. “We look forward to partnering with Thoma Bravo and Grayshift to build upon our digital investigation suite to further innovate and continue to serve a growing number of organizations and use cases. We are confident that this transaction — joining two complementary organizations to form a new private company — offers the most compelling value creation for all our stakeholders and is a testament to the value of digital investigation solutions, the Magnet platform, our talented team, and loyal customer base.”
“Since early in Grayshift’s history, Magnet Forensics has been a trusted and strategic partner,” said David Miles, co-founder and CEO of Grayshift. “Bringing Magnet and Grayshift together will accelerate innovation and ultimately transform digital investigations. Today’s announcement is a defining moment in the industry, and together we will accelerate the future of digital forensics.”
“We look forward to bringing together the complementary capabilities of Magnet and Grayshift to create a leader in the digital forensics and cyber security space,” said Hudson Smith, a partner at Thoma Bravo. “Digital evidence is an increasingly critical aspect of investigations and the combined company will be well-positioned to further market expansion, accelerate innovation, and provide even greater solutions to its customers. We look forward to leveraging Thoma Bravo’s deep industry, operational and investment expertise to help the combined company capture the tremendous growth opportunities ahead.”
Source: Magnet Forensics
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