William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Coalfire Systems Inc. (Coalfire), a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group and The Chertoff Group, in connection with its pending acquisition by Apax Partners. The transaction was announced on December 13, 2019.
Transaction Highlights
- Deep sector expertise and relationships: Coalfire and The Carlyle Group were attracted to William Blair's extensive knowledge and experience within cloud services and cybersecurity. In addition, William Blair's strong buyer relationships provided valuable insight into the most likely and aggressive financial and strategic acquirers.
- Trusted guidance: William Blair was integrally involved throughout each step of the transaction process, collaborating closely with management in developing marketing materials, educating prospective buyers, coordinating due diligence, and advising on process strategy and tactics.
- Positioning excellence: The transaction team effectively positioned Coalfire's unrivaled cloud cybersecurity services expertise, focus on global enterprise organizations, outstanding ability to hire and retain talent in a highly competitive vertical, and strong financial performance.
About the Companies
Coalfire is the trusted cybersecurity advisor that helps private and public-sector organizations avert threats, close gaps, and effectively manage risk with a focus on cloud application and platforms. Coalfire has been a cybersecurity thought leader for nearly 20 years and has offices throughout the United States and Europe.
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across four business segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit, and Investment Solutions. With $222 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2019, Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies, and the communities in which we live and invest.
The Chertoff Group is a global advisory services firm focused on security and risk management. Through the firm's Strategic Advisory Services Practice Area, The Chertoff Group offers comprehensive security assessments, risk management strategies, policy and planning frameworks, and ongoing monitoring services to help clients anticipate, prepare for, and build capabilities necessary to navigate today's complex threat environment.
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For over 40 years, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of $50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of technology and telecommunications, services, healthcare, and consumer.
Learn more about our technology investment banking expertise.