Vector Capital Mergers and Acquisitions Summary

Private Equity Firm Profile

In the last 3 years, Vector Capital has acquired 5 companies. It has also invested in 1 other.

Vector Capital’s most common sectors for investment aresoftware (37%) and internet software and services (22%) . The Firm’s most common investment types include going private (33%) and secondary buyout (20%). In total, Vector Capital has invested in 14 US states and 6 different countries. Its largest (disclosed) acquisition occurred in 2021 when it acquired Cornerstone OnDemand for $5.2B.

In the last 3 years, Vector Capital has exited 2 companies. The Firm’s most common exit type is trade sale (59%). Vector Capital’s largest (disclosed) exit occurred in 2020 when it sold Saba Software for $1.4B.

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M&A Summary

  • M&A Total Activity76
    • M&A Buy Activity45
    • M&A Sell Activity31
  • Total Sectors Invested 10
  • Total Countries Invested 6
  • M&A Buy/Sell Connections 33
  • M&A Advisors 15

Vector Capital

One Market Street, Steuart Tower, 23rd Floor,
San Francisco, California 94105
United States
(415) 293-5000
www.vectorcapital.com

Vector Capital is a private equity firm specializing in spinouts, buyouts and recapitalizations of established technology businesses. Vector targets both public and private company investments. Prospective businesses typically have strong customer bases, high gross margins, and at least $30 million in sales. Vector Capital was formed in 1997, after spinning out from Ziff Brothers Investments. The Firm is based in San Francisco, California.


Investment Criteria

Sectors of Interest: Business Services, Communications, Environmental, Healthcare Services, Information Technology, Internet Software and Services, Media, Safety/Security, Software, Technology Hardware

Target Transaction Types: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI), Divestiture, Going Private, Growth Capital, Recapitalization, Secondary Buyout, Stake Purchase, Venture, Merger

Geographic Preferences: East US, Midwest US, South US, West US, Canada

Transaction Criteria Min Max
Target Revenue 30 -
Target EBITDA - -
Investment Size - -
Enterprise Value - -
values in millions of USD

M&A Summary

Buy vs Sell

Year ≤ '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 '24 T
Buy (1.4/yr) # 38 2 3 1 1 - 45
vol $6.2B $9.7B $15.9B
Sell (1.0/yr) # 26 3 - 1 1 - 31
vol $3.9B $1.4B $355M $5.6B
  76

Most Recent M&A

Company Date Value Type
Riverbed Technology, Inc. 2023-05-30 - Secondary Buyout
San Francisco, California · www.riverbed.com
MarkLogic Corp. 2023-01-03 355M USD Trade Sale
Redwood City, California · www.marklogic.com
Malwarebytes Corp. 2022-09-21 - Growth Capital
Santa Clara, California · www.malwarebytes.com
WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. 2022-04-27 - Secondary Sale
Seattle, Washington · www.watchguard.com
MarkLogic Corp. 2021-11-23 - Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)
Redwood City, California · www.marklogic.com
Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. 2021-08-05 5.2B USD Going Private
Santa Monica, California · www.cornerstoneondemand.com
McGraw-Hill Education, Inc. 2021-06-15 4.5B USD Secondary Buyout
New York, New York · www.mheducation.com
Mood Media Corp. 2020-12-01 - Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)
Austin, Texas · www.moodmedia.com
Emarsys eMarketing Systems AG 2020-10-01 - Trade Sale
Vienna, Austria · www.emarsys.com
Nortap Technology, Inc. 2020-09-24 - Secondary Buyout
Wexford, Pennsylvania · www.patrontechnology.com
View All >>

Portfolio M&A

Company Acquired Add-On/Sale Date #
Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. 2021-08-05 SumTotal Systems LLC 2022-06-13 2
Santa Monica, California · www.cornerstoneondemand.com Gainesville, Florida · www.sumtotalsystems.com
McGraw-Hill Education, Inc. 2021-06-15 Busuu Online SL 2021-11-29 1
New York, New York · www.mheducation.com Madrid, Spain · www.busuu.com
Mood Media Corp. 2020-12-01 PlayNetwork, Inc. 2021-09-21 2
Austin, Texas · www.moodmedia.com Redmond, Washington · www.playnetwork.com
IPVALUE Management, Inc. 2014-07-07 Longitude Licensing Ltd. 2016-07-18 1
Santa Clara, California · www.ipvalue.com Dublin, Ireland · www.longitudelicensing.ie
Vispero 2015-09-01 Optelec BV 2015-11-16 1
St. Petersburg, Florida · www.vispero.com Barendrecht, Netherlands · www.optelec.com

M&A by Sector

Sector Current # Value All-time # Value
Software 4 (24%) - 17 (37%) 2.3B (14%)
Internet Software and Services 4 (24%) 5.2B (53%) 10 (22%) 5.9B (37%)
Information Technology 4 (24%) 120M (1%) 9 (20%) 2.9B (19%)
Technology Hardware 1 (6%) - 3 (7%) 108M (1%)
Media 1 (6%) - 2 (4%) -
Education 1 (6%) 4.5B (46%) 1 (2%) 4.5B (28%)
Test/Measurement Equipment - - 1 (2%) 138M (1%)
Business Services 1 (6%) - 1 (2%) -
Consumer Products 1 (6%) - 1 (2%) -
Life Science - - 1 (2%) -
Total 17 $9.8B 46 $15.9B

Acquisitions By Geo

State/Country Current # Value All-time # Value
United States 14 (82%) 9.8B (100%) 38 (83%) 15.7B (99%)
  California 5 (29%) 5.2B (53%) 15 (33%) 6.0B (38%)
  Texas 1 (6%) - 4 (9%) 1.6B (10%)
  New York 2 (12%) 4.6B (47%) 3 (7%) 4.8B (30%)
  Washington 2 (12%) - 3 (7%) 151M (1%)
  Connecticut - - 3 (7%) 1.6B (10%)
  Georgia - - 2 (4%) 100M (1%)
  Pennsylvania 1 (6%) - 1 (2%) -
  Illinois 1 (6%) - 1 (2%) -
  Florida 1 (6%) - 1 (2%) -
  Arizona 1 (6%) - 1 (2%) -
  North Carolina - - 1 (2%) 780M (5%)
  Maryland - - 1 (2%) 634M (4%)
  Utah - - 1 (2%) -
  New Jersey - - 1 (2%) -
United Kingdom 2 (12%) - 2 (4%) -
Israel 1 (6%) - 2 (4%) 160M (1%)
Canada - - 2 (4%) 77M (< 1%)
  Quebec - - 1 (2%) 77M (< 1%)
  Ontario - - 1 (2%) -
France - - 1 (2%) -
Austria - - 1 (2%) -
Domestic 14 (82%) 9.8B (100%) 38 (83%) 15.7B (99%)
Cross-border 3 (18%) - 8 (17%) 237M (1%)
Total 17 $9.8B 46 $15.9B

Acquisitions by Deal Type

Type Current # Value All-time # Value
Going Private 2 (12%) 5.3B (54%) 15 (33%) 11.2B (70%)
Secondary Buyout 7 (41%) 4.5B (46%) 9 (20%) 4.6B (29%)
Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) 1 (6%) - 8 (17%) 138M (1%)
Growth Capital 5 (29%) - 6 (13%) -
Divestiture 2 (12%) - 4 (9%) -
Venture - - 2 (4%) -
Recapitalization - - 1 (2%) -
Stake Purchase - - 1 (2%) -
Total 17 $9.8B 46 $15.9B

Exits by Deal Type

Type Total # Value
Trade Sale - Public Company 12 (39%) 4.2B (75%)
Secondary Sale 9 (29%) -
Trade Sale 7 (23%) 1.4B (25%)
Bankruptcy 1 (3%) -
Merger 1 (3%) -
Stake Sale 1 (3%) -
Total 31 $5.6B

Top M&A Advisors

Financial Deals
Lazard Ltd.
1
Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc.
1
William Blair
1
Legal Deals
Paul Hastings
5
Kirkland & Ellis
4
Shearman & Sterling
3

Deal Values

buy # Total
> $1B 4 $12.6B
$100M to $1B 11 $3.1B
< $100M 2 $177M
TOTAL $15.9B
Largest Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc.
$5.2B (2021-08-05)
sell # Total
> $1B 2 $2.4B
$100M to $1B 8 $3.2B
TOTAL $5.6B
Largest Saba Software, Inc.
$1.4B (2020-02-24)

M&A Connections

Deals
Acquired from
Investor(s)
22%
10 (22%)
Strategic(s)
9%
4 (9%)
Exited to
Investor(s)
29%
9 (29%)
Strategic(s)
61%
19 (61%)

FAQ

When was Vector Capital founded?

Vector Capital was founded in 1997.

What type of investor is Vector Capital?

Vector Capital is a private equity firm.

Where is Vector Capital headquartered?

Vector Capital is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

How much capital does Vector Capital have under management?

Vector Capital has 4.0B USD under management.

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