Private equity firm Thoma Bravo may be seeking to sell ESG software provider Cority for roughly $2 billion, Reuters reported.
Thoma Bravo acquired Cority in mid-2019 from Norwest Venture Partners, which retained a minority stake at that time.
Cority, founded in 1985, is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company develops EHS and sustainability software. Cority has more than 600 employees, 1,500 customers and 2 million-plus end users across roughly 120 countries, according to the company's website. The business has 888 employees listed on LinkedIn as of August 2024, though we don't know a specific headcount figure.
Cority's core SaaS solutions include Health Cloud, Safety Cloud, Sustainability Cloud, Environmental Cloud, Quality Cloud and Analytics Cloud. Key channel partners include Booz Allen Hamilton, ERM and Trinity Consultants, among many others.
Under Thoma Bravo's ownership, Cority has acquired multiple sustainability-focused software companies -- including Greenstone, WeSustain and Reporting21.
Thoma Bravo: Recent and Potential Investment Moves
Thoma Bravo is one of the world's largest private equity firms focused on the enterprise software market. But the COVID-19 pandemic pressured some investments and led to a deal slowdown. Fast forward to August 2024, and Thoma Bravo is looking to unlock some returns for investors while also recapitalizing some investments.
Thoma Bravo has hired Goldman Sachs to run the Cority sale process, Reuters said. The private equity firm is seeking to sell Cority at about 20 times annual EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), the report said. Sustainable Tech Partner has not independently confirmed the report.
Meanwhile, Thoma Bravo sold half of its Nasdaq stake for $2.7 billion in July 2024. And Thoma Bravo has been seeking to recapitalize ConnectWise in order to repay debt and pay for a potential acquisition, Bloomberg reported in June 2024.
Meanwhile, M&A activity in the ESG and sustainability software markets has been steady to strong. In April 2024 ,EQT Private Equity acquired Avetta, a developer of supply chain risk management software. Avetta's SaaS platform has enabled clients to "manage supply chain risks across health, safety, and sustainability," EQT said.
