RALEIGH, N.C. and SAN FRANCISCO – November 11, 2021 – Pendo, a company that provides software that makes software better, today announced a $110 million secondary investment led by Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm. The investment was carried out through the purchase of secondary shares from Pendo employees and early-stage investors at the company’s most recent valuation of $2.6 billion. As one of the largest and most experienced software investors in the world, Thoma Bravo can provide Pendo with significant operational and financial resources to support the company’s growth plans, strategic acquisition efforts, and continued product innovation.
“Thoma Bravo is a world-class investor with tremendous experience and insight in our sector and we are so excited to partner with them on the next phase of our growth journey,” said Todd Olson, CEO and co-founder of Pendo. “Through this investment, we are pleased to have given our employees and early-stage investors an attractive liquidity opportunity in recognition of their support and tremendous contributions to Pendo’s success.”
Founded in 2013, Pendo works with more than 2,000 customers, ranging from Fortune 500 businesses undergoing digital transformation to the software startups driving such digital transformation. Pendo helps companies meet the ever-rising expectations of today’s consumers, who demand simple, productive experiences with the software they use every day. As the only platform to combine in-app messaging with robust product analytics, user feedback and roadmapping tools, Pendo enables product teams to make informed decisions about what features to build, which to sunset, and how to accelerate product adoption.
“Over the last four years our partnership with Pendo has completely transformed our understanding of the way our customers use our products and services,” said Aaron Hixson, group manager of product management for Venafi, a Thoma Bravo portfolio company. “Today, Venafi uses Pendo to make data-driven decisions across every layer of our organization. Pendo has also substantially improved the way we interact with our machine identity management customers – it has been instrumental in increasing adoption and utilization in the fast-paced rollout of new functionality.”
“As digital transformation has escalated across all industries, efficient and easy-to-use software is a business imperative. Pendo is a clear and proven leader, addressing the growing market need for excellent software experiences,” said Robert (Tre) Sayle, a partner at Thoma Bravo. “We are excited to work with Pendo and its talented leadership team and to leverage our software and operational expertise to build on their successes and hypercharge their growth.”
Pendo used the Nasdaq Private Market platform for the transaction and Gunderson served as its legal counsel. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Thoma Bravo.
About Pendo
Pendo’s mission is to elevate the world’s experience with software. Pendo customers include the world’s leading software companies and digital enterprises, including Verizon, RE/MAX, LabCorp, OpenTable, Okta, Salesforce and Zendesk. Founded in 2013 in the heart of Raleigh, North Carolina, Pendo is backed by Battery Ventures, Spark Capital, Meritech Capital, Sapphire Ventures and B Capital Group. Through its ProductCraft and customer communities, sponsored events and podcast, Pendo aims to support the success of product and digital leaders everywhere. For more information, visit: www.pendo.io.
About Thoma Bravo
Thoma Bravo is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, with more than $83 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2021. The firm invests in growth-oriented, innovative companies operating in the software and technology sectors. Leveraging the firm’s deep sector expertise and proven strategic and operational capabilities, Thoma Bravo collaborates with its portfolio companies to implement operating best practices, drive growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings. Over the past 20 years, the firm has acquired more than 325 companies representing over $100 billion in enterprise value. The firm has offices in Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. For more information, visit thomabravo.com.
Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
She brings more than 20 years of experience in technology research and marketing; prior to her current role, she was a Research Analyst at Omdia, authoring market and ecosystem reports on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and User Interface technologies. Sherril was previously Manager of Market Research at Intrado Life and Safety, providing competitive analysis and intelligence, business development support, and analyst relations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
