Perforce Software

DevOps software tools for enterprises
Invested in
2016
Status

Acquired by Clearlake Capital 2017

Location
Minneapolis, MN
Sector
Technology
Sector
Technology

"When the opportunity arose, I did not hesitate to partner with Summit for the third time in my career. Their deep software experience and focus on growth provided valuable support as we worked together to transform Perforce."

Janet Dryer
Former CEO
|
Perforce Software
3

Strategic acquisitions completed during Summit’s two-year investment, helping to broaden product suite and expanding customer base

4x+

EBITDA growth

2017

Acquired by Clearlake Capital Group

3

Strategic acquisitions completed during Summit’s two-year investment, helping to broaden product suite and expanding customer base

4x+

EBITDA growth

2017

Acquired by Clearlake Capital Group

Founded in 1995, Perforce was a leading provider of version control and configuration management software for teams building digital products. After serving as CEO of Perforce for more than two decades, Founder Christopher Seiwald sought to transition the business to new leadership. Summit introduced software industry veteran Janet Dryer – former CEO of Summit-backed HelpSystems – and in 2016, led a majority investment in Perforce to help launch the company on its next phase of growth.

How Summit Partners Helped

  • Led a majority investment in 2016
  • Introduced software industry veteran Janet Dryer to assume the role of CEO as part of a planned founder transition. Summit had previously backed Janet twice during her tenure as CEO of HelpSystems.
  • Collaborated closely with management to develop an M&A strategy to help broaden Perforce’s product suite and strengthen the company’s position in the enterprise segment of the market.Summit actively worked alongside management to identify and diligence targets, helping execute and integrate three acquisitions, each of which added complementary technologies to Perforce’s product portfolio.
  • Engaged Summit’s Capital Markets team to establish a credit facility to support M&A activity
  • Worked with management to implement marketing programs focused on driving customer growth

At the time of Summit’s exit in 2017, Perforce had grown to be a leading provider of enterprise-grade DevOps solutions that helped developers and operations teams across the globe to build and deliver digital products faster and with higher quality. The company served more than 3,000 customers worldwide, including NVIDIA, Pixar, Scania, Ubisoft and VMware.

The Portfolio Company Executive quoted herein did not receive compensation for any statements regarding Summit Partners. However, since Perforce Software is a former portfolio company of Summit, this individual did receive general compensation in connection with her employment by the company. In addition, this individual is not an investor in a Summit fund but may have conflicts arising from her past role with Perforce Software due to the company’s relationship with Summit.

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