DigiCert Gets New Investment Post Symantec SSL Acquisition

DigiCert, the secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate provider, will get strategic growth investments from Clearlake Capital Group and TA Associates, and both firms will become equal partners in the company.

Clearlake is a private investment firm, and TA is an existing investor and global growth private equity firm. DigiCert will continue to be led by CEO John Merrill and the current management team, who are investing alongside Clearlake and TA in the transaction. Terms of the growth investments are not being disclosed.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2019, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

Philip Antoniadis, DigiCert’s executive vice president of global channel partners, tells us his company’s partners will benefit in many ways, but “first and foremost we will be able to use the new investment to accelerate innovation, continue to upgrade our technology and pursue growth opportunities that benefit partners.

DigiCert’s Philip Antoniadis

“This includes advancing product and platform enhancements that they can use in their business processes and also offer to their customers,” he said. “The investment will give DigiCert and our partners an advantage because, as we are able to put more resources into our product and development efforts, it will impact our go-to-market abilities and mean they will have more leading solutions to sell.”

DigiCert provides certificate management platforms and customer support in multiple languages with offices globally. The company combines a modern infrastructure with locally focused solutions designed to enhance security for its customers anywhere they conduct business and in compliance with local requirements.

In 2017, Symantec sold its SSL issuance certificate business to rival DigiCert for $950 million in cash and a 30 percent stake in DigiCert stock.

“Our investment partners have a great amount of confidence in our DigiCert teams, in our industry leadership and in the strength of our business,” Antoniadis said. “They are providing us with the backing to carry on and accelerate our work. Our partners are very important to us, and we frequently talk to them to learn about their business needs and determine how we can support their growth. This investment will only enhance our efforts to deliver value for them.”

Operationally, DigiCert will continue to be “about the same, but this investment will accelerate our pace of activity and drive new growth opportunities for DigiCert and our partners,” he said.

“I, personally, have worked with many of our partners for a decade, or with some for almost two, and I am very excited about working together with our partners to achieve our future success,” Antoniadis said.

“Having served as an active investor in DigiCert for nearly seven years, we have had the distinct honor and privilege of watching the company flourish from a 40-person upstart technology company to a leading provider of digital certificates with more than 1,000 employees globally,” said Jason Werlin, a managing director at TA. “Specifically, DigiCert’s solutions and loyal customer base have strategically positioned the company to capitalize on both organic and inorganic initiatives to further scale its business. We look forward to continuing to provide support to DigiCert and working collaboratively with management alongside Clearlake as the company enters its next phase of growth.”