Sectigo to Be Acquired by GI Partners

SAN FRANCISCO and ROSELAND, N.J. -- Sectigo, a leading provider of automated digital identity management and web security solutions, announced today a definitive agreement to be acquired by GI Partners, a leading private investment firm. GI Partners will support the acceleration of Sectigo's security innovations and growth as the company expands worldwide.

Bill Holtz, Chief Executive Officer of Sectigo, said, "It has been a pleasure partnering with the Francisco Partners team over the past few years and we look forward to working with GI Partners as we write the next chapter of Sectigo's story. The GI Partners team has a strong track record of helping technology companies expand through organic growth acceleration, M&A, and investments to support innovation. We have built a strong foundation as a leader in the cybersecurity market and are excited to work with GI Partners to continue delivering value to our customers and partners through automation, products, and acquisitions."

Sectigo provides digital identity solutions to more than 700,000 businesses around the world. Founded in 1998, the company has been operating as an independent company since Francisco Partners acquired the business in 2017. Sectigo has over 20 years of experience deploying TLS/SSL certificates and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) management solutions. The company's award-winning automated certificate management platform and web security products are available through retail and enterprise channels, as well as a network of more than 1,200 partners worldwide.

David Mace, Managing Director of GI Partners, said: "We have known Sectigo for years, and the company represents a highly attractive opportunity to invest in a mission-critical component of the cybersecurity sector. We were drawn to the company's strong growth profile, differentiated market positioning, and industry-leading executive management. We look forward to supporting Bill and his team as they accelerate growth while continuing to deliver operational excellence."

Dipanjan "DJ" Deb, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, and Brian Decker, Partner at Francisco Partners, said, "Francisco Partners has enjoyed our partnership with the Sectigo management team during our ownership. We are proud of what we have accomplished together, and we wish the company continued success as they begin a new chapter with GI Partners."

Bill Conner, Sectigo Board Chairman and CEO of SonicWall, Inc., said, "Today marks an exciting day for Sectigo and a proud moment for me personally. I congratulate Bill Holtz and the entire Sectigo management team on their plans to join forces with GI Partners as they pursue an accelerated growth path. As chairman of Sectigo, I have enjoyed collaborating with this top-notch group of innovators, including Francisco Partners, for three years. The future is bright for Sectigo as the company builds on its impressive position as a digital identity and web security solutions leader."

The transaction is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2020 following completion of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

UBS Securities LLC acted as lead financial advisor to Sectigo on the transaction. Jefferies LLC acted as sole financial advisor to GI Partners.

About Sectigo

Sectigo is a leading cybersecurity provider of digital identity solutions, including TLS / SSL certificates, DevOps, IoT, enterprise-grade PKI management, and multi-layered web security. As the world's largest commercial Certificate Authority (CA) with more than 700,000 customers and over 20 years of experience in online trust, Sectigo partners with organizations of all sizes to deliver automated public and private PKI solutions for securing web servers, user access, connected devices, and applications. Recognized for its award-winning innovation and best-in-class global customer support, Sectigo has the proven performance needed to secure the digital landscape of today and tomorrow. For more information, visit www.sectigo.com and follow @SectigoHQ.

About GI Partners

Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm based in San Francisco, California. The firm has raised over $23 billion in capital from leading institutional investors around the world to invest in private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team invests primarily in companies in the Healthcare, IT Infrastructure, Services, and Software sectors. The real estate team invests across a broad range of platforms and strategies. The data infrastructure team invests primarily in hard asset infrastructure businesses underpinning the digital economy.

For more information on GI Partners and its entire portfolio, please visit www.gipartners.com.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in investments in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised approximately $24 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential.

For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

ABOUT SECTIGO
Sectigo (formerly Comodo Certificate Authority) is the world’s largest provider of SSL certificates by volume having issued over 91 million certificates and serving over 200,000 customers across 150 countries. The company provides a full suite of certificate products spanning all validation levels for website certificates, certificates for code-signing and email-signing, and the Sectigo Certificate Manager (SCM) platform. Sectigo has its US headquarters in New Jersey and international offices in the United Kingdom, Ukraine and India.