WebTrends Acquired By Francisco Partners for $94 Million
WebTrends was aquired by Francisco Partners from NetIQ Corporation. The transaction is being undertaken with the full participation and support of the WebTrends management team, members of which will be investing in the new business together with Francisco Partners. Greg Drew, currently general manager of WebTrends, will continue to lead the business and will assume the role of president and chief executive officer of the new standalone WebTrends business. Francisco Partners will acquire NetIQ’s WebTrends business unit for approximately $94 million in cash.
Guy Creese commented on the Ballardvalle blog; WebTrends had been a self-sufficient division of NetIQ (with its own set of financials) for awhile, so the analyst community had been surmising that WebTrends would ultimately return to being separate (as it was before NetIQ bought it).
By going private, WebTrends get to avoid the overhead of Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as the ability to call its own shots and acquisitions without Wall Street looking over its shoulder. Given that WebTrends management believes that the time of consolidation is here (a la WebSideStory’s recent purchase of Atomz) it will be interesting to watch things unfold over the next year.
“As a pioneer in web analytics, WebTrends has established a longstanding record of customer success for over 10 years. We believe the company has built the best product capabilities and strategic vision for its category today,” said Ben Ball, general partner of Francisco Partners. “We are proud to establish a deep relationship with WebTrends, and are excited about providing the company with resources to accelerate its growth. We look forward to working with WebTrends’ experienced management team to enhance the company’s customer relationships, product capabilities, and strategic leadership.”
