Thoma Bravo to Acquire Sparta Systems

Thoma Bravo investment in Sparta Systems signals growth opportunities for EQMS leader
San Francisco, CA Jul 7, 2014 – Thoma Bravo, LLC, a leading private equity investment firm, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sparta Systems, Inc., a global leader in enterprise quality management solutions (EQMS), from current investors Summit Partners and Altaris Capital Partners. Financial details were not disclosed, and the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014.
“We are excited about the Sparta Systems acquisition due to the compelling opportunities for growth, both organically and from additional acquisitions that enhance the company’s offerings,” said Scott Crabill, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “As a proven EQMS leader with a strong customer base and a defensible position in the industry, it fits our investment and company growth strategy extremely well.”
Founded in 1994, Sparta Systems currently has over 650,000 users in more than 30 countries. The company maintains an extensive customer base in many highly regulated industries, which includes the top 30 pharmaceutical, 12 of the top 15 medical device and leading consumer products and discrete manufacturing companies.
The company offers a platform – led by its flagship product TrackWise® – that enables manufacturers to deliver products to market safely and efficiently. Sparta’s solutions provide powerful visibility and traceability across its customers’ quality management activities, allowing organizations to address a multitude of escalating challenges including: mounting regulatory oversight, increased public scrutiny, growing supply chain and business process complexity and increased pressure to deliver greater profits. In addition, the company recently released Stratas™, a revolutionary, cloud-based solution that extends TrackWise beyond a corporation’s four walls to external suppliers and manufacturers.
“Thoma Bravo’s investment allows us to continue our superior growth trajectory, by strengthening our ability to deliver innovative solutions to customers faster, as well as accelerate our vertical market growth,” said Eileen Martinson, CEO of Sparta Systems. “I’m confident that this will enable us to not only enhance our current customer offerings, but to be opportunistic about acquisitions that will add to our product portfolio.”
“Eileen along with her management team have built an incredible company, and we couldn’t have been more impressed with the people at Sparta Systems,” said Arvindh Kumar, vice president at Thoma Bravo. “We look forward to partnering with them to continue building on their position as the preeminent EQMS provider.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Thoma Bravo. Lazard acted as financial advisor and Proskauer as legal advisor to Sparta Systems.