DOJ May Challenge Thoma Bravo Buyout of ForgeRock
The US Department of Justice is reportedly closing in on a decision about whether it will fight private equity giant Thoma Bravo’s $2.3 billion buyout of New York-listed digital identity specialist ForgeRock, Inc.
The DOJ is concerned ForgeRock competes too closely with Thoma Bravo’s other portfolio business Ping, which the firm bought for $2.8 billion in October 2022, Politico reported, citing several unnamed sources.
It said the DOJ was nearing a July 26 deadline over whether to bring the case.
ForgeRock’s software provides identity orchestration, dynamic access controls, governance and APIs in cloud or hybrid environments, and is used by more than 1,300 organizations.
Ping Identity, meanwhile, provides its customers with access to cloud, mobile, SaaS and on-premises applications and APIs.
Late last year, Thoma Bravo raised a massive $32.4 billion across its new flagship fund and a pair of other investment vehicles.
Alongside that large cap raise the firm has also picked up $6.2 billion for its fourth mid-market Discover Fund, a big jump compared with the $3.9 billion it collected for Fund III.
The private equity firm also pulled in $1.8 billion for its Explore Fund II, which will target lower mid-market software and technology companies.