Continuum Gets Acquired by Thoma Bravo

Continuum Managed Services has been acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which purchased the company from its previous owner of six years, Summit Partners.

Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which closed late last week but was announced today after the close of trading.

Thoma Bravo’s past and present portfolio includes companies like Solarwinds, Sonicwall, Blue Coat Systems and LANDesk.

George

“The timing in this market is stunningly spectacular,” Continuum CEO Michael George told MSPmentor on the eve of the announcement. “This is the next chapter in a rapidly changing landscape.”

The acquisition is the first piece in an aggressive growth strategy that aims to swallow up other technology companies that complement Continuum’s vertically integrated service delivery model.

“We’re the first of what I think is a host of dominos to fall,” George said. “We are going to be the consolidator.”

The purchase of Continuum was done through Thoma Bravo’s Discover Fund growth equity arm.

That same unit will lead an effort to acquire other category leaders, George said.

“We’re the first piece of that big puzzle,” he said. “We will be buying and consolidating.”

“I don’t know who might be next, but obviously our entire strategic differentiation is that we have this vertically integrated solutions platform with NOC, SOC and help desk all integrated to it.”

Continuum has more than 1,400 employees around the world, 5,800 partners and monitors more than 1 million endpoints.

As much as anything, Thoma Bravo is investing in George, his team and their ability to execute on their long- and near-term strategy.

“We know this market well, and have followed the company for a long time,” A.J. Rohde, a Partner at Thoma Bravo, said in a statement. “What Michael George and his team have delivered on in terms of an innovative product suite and full software and services model has been very impressive, and we can’t wait to work with them to accelerate the world-class offering they deliver to MSPs, both organically and through add-on acquisitions.”

Partners will see the impact quickly, George said.

“We have more capital on the balance sheet than we’ve ever had in the history of the business,” he said. “They’re going to double down on that strategy and invest more in our partners.

“All of our partners should be feeling the effects of that nearly immediately.”

Send tips and news to [email protected].