Santa Clara cybersecurity startup Centrify is about to have a new owner and a new CEO.
TPG Capital has agreed to buy a majority stake in the company from fellow private equity giant Thoma Bravo, the firms announced Thursday. As part of the deal, TPG is bringing in former Symantec executive Art Gilliland as Centrify’s new CEO.
Centrify’s particular niche — so-called privileged access management systems — “is one of the most important and strategic sub-sectors of security software, and Centrify is a clear market leader in this space,” TPG Capital partner Tim Millikin said in a statement.
The companies did not disclose the purchase price or other terms of the deal, including when they expected it to close. Company representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Founded in 2004, Centrify offers online authentication services for enterprise customers. Prior to Thoma Bravo acquiring a majority position in the company in 2018, Centrify had raised some $94 million and had a valuation of $246 million as of its last venture capital round in 2014, according to PitchBook.
Based in Fort Worth, Texas, and San Francisco, TPG has made a series of investments in the cybersecurity space, including in Expanse, McAfee, Tanium and Zscaler.
Gilliland was at Symantec for about two years, leaving the company in December, according to his LinkedIn profile. He headed up the company’s enterprise division. Previously, he served as CEO of Skyport Systems, another cybersecurity company that was acquired by Cisco in 2018.
He’s replacing Flint Brenton, who became Centrify’s CEO in July. Brenton will leave the company after the transaction closes.
Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal
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